


The New Supergirl

by DouglasAmongUs



Series: The Adventures of El Mayarah Danvers-Luthor [3]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Comfort, Coming of Age, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Family Feels, Kara Danvers and Lena Luthor in Love, Light Angst, Parents Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor, kara danvers and lena luthor are the best parents ever, superhero in training
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:35:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 22
Words: 51,835
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22764844
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DouglasAmongUs/pseuds/DouglasAmongUs
Summary: El Mayarah Danvers-Luthor is about to graduate from high school and, with that, take her first steps into superhero-dom. The teen is likely to quickly found out it's not all it's cracked up to be. Thankfully, she has a lot of people in her corner.Join us for the next chapter in El's story, as the new Supergirl makes her debut!
Relationships: Alex Danvers/Kelly Olsen, Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: The Adventures of El Mayarah Danvers-Luthor [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616065
Comments: 395
Kudos: 306





	1. Chapter 1

She noticed the van. Of course, she noticed the van. A refurbished cargo van with blocked out windows bearing the logo of a non-existent flower company. Classic choice, by the way. If it wasn't enough that she had super-hearing and x-ray vision, both of which tipped her off to the well-armed individuals hunkered down in the back of the van, she had also been raised by A. a woman who regularly had attempts made on her life, B. a superhero, with C. a secret agent who doubled as her aunt pitch-hitting in the parenting department when the other two weren't available. The sum totality of El Danvers-Luthor's existence, really, meant she saw what happened next coming from a mile away.

She could have stopped it, of course. Turned on her heels and bolted in the opposite direction. She could also have lowered her glasses and melted the tires off the truck, but she wasn't entirely sure she could do it surreptitiously. More to the point, she had made a promise, and, even if no one else on the street saw her, Mom would know. Mom would always know.

She could foil this whole thing, however she was so struck by it, when she noticed it, that she was just fascinated enough to let it happen. It had been a long time since someone had tried it, and, well, it was just so ironic that they would try it now.

She paused up the street from the van, turning to a nearby hot dog vendor and ordering one with everything. She was feeling peckish, and it gave her the opportunity to wonder how they were going to do it.

Man scrolling through his phone leaned up against the building? Maybe

Guy walking up the street the opposite way? Possible.

Dude standing behind her in line for a hot dog who just pressed a gun into her back? Definitely.

El stiffened as the pistol was pushed harder. She breathed. The important thing was collateral damage. She looked up at the vendor, trying to put on a calm face, only to see him giving her a stony glare. He pulled his apron aside to reveal a pistol tucked into his belt.

"The hot dog vendor?" the girl couldn't stop herself from declaring. "I did not see that coming."

"Stay quiet," the man behind her growled. "You know how this goes."

"Sadly, I do," El responded. She looked back at the vendor. "Well, you can say goodbye to that massive tip I was about to give you."

The vendor smirked while the man behind her looped a gloved hand around her arm and pulled her back, guiding her down the street.

"The van," he whispered.

"I know," said the teen. "Classic choice, by the way."

He hissed, unimpressed. The side of the van suddenly slid open partially. The man with the pistol guided her towards it, bending her head down as they neared. He checked the street before pushing her inside. El rolled onto the floor of the vehicle. Hands quickly grabbed her, and a bag was thrown over her head. Zip-ties followed, the heavy-duty kind, around her wrists and ankles.

_Professionals_ , she thought. That was nice. She'd hate it if it was a bunch of low-rent thugs graduating from knocking over liquor stores. She heard the door slam shut and felt the van take off.

"Anyone?" a voice asked.

"No, we're clear," replied the voice of the man with the gun.

El breathed and went through her options. She wiggled her wrists experimentally. Yep, plenty of room to get to the bracelet and squeeze the jewel there. Even moving, Jeju would have them in a couple of minutes. But, it wasn't like she was in any danger, so she didn't see the harm in milking this just a little.

"Ya'll mind if I sit up?" she asked. "It's just the floor of this van isn't carpeted and my back is killing me."

There was an annoyed sound, then a hand grabbed her by the jacket, lifted, and shoved her against the wall of the van.

"Okay, rude," the girl said.

She settled into a seated position. _Okay_ , she thought, giving the space a cursory scan. _5 people. Another 2 up front. And the hot dog guy_ , she reminded herself. _Can't forget him. 8 man crew. Definitely pros._

"Ya'll are good," she said and watched their heads shift to her. Probably not used to assets being so blasé. Well, they definitely weren't prepared for her. "I mean black bag? Nice touch, and, from what I can tell, you are decked out. Is that a Beretta 9 mil?"

They might have just assumed the girl was babbling like an idiot out of nervousness or fear. That is, until she pointed directly at one of the kidnappers, a Beretta tucked in a holster under his arm.

"Really, just top notch," El continued. "Quick question, what's the endgame exactly? I mean I assume money, but I have to ask if this is some kind of corporate espionage thing. Were you hired by someone or... Oh dear, don't tell me this is your op." The girl's head, still in the bag, turned between them. "Did you put this together yourselves? Really? Was this going to be your big payday? One last ride then we retire?"

El let her arms drop unceremoniously. The funny part was, she didn't even have to x-ray them. Jeju had been working with her on her hearing, attenuating it to be perfectly directional. She could pick out a cricket chirping a hundred miles away. Inside this van, she could hear the individual flutter of the kidnapper's heartbeats.

"Well, I hate to break it to you, fellas- Sorry, and lady. You know, actually, that was rude of me I don’t know all your pronouns." The girl raised a hand and motioned among the kidnappers. They looked around hesitantly for a moment.

"She/her," one finally replied. One of her comrades elbowed her quickly.

"Thank you," El said. "Like I said, I hate to break it to you, but this is not going to go down like you had planned. You were lucky you didn't pull this in like a month, after I graduate, because then I would have just handled you personally. As it stands, though, you are about to have a very bad day. But I'm getting ahead of myself. You know who my Mom is."

"Yeah," said one to her left, gruffly. "The Luthor bitch."

El turned towards him and, to add emphasis, raised her hand to point directly at the man. "On second thought," she said. "I am going to handle you personally." The finger stayed for a moment, then lowered. The girl turned back to the group. "Your rude compatriot here is correct, my mother is Lena Luthor. For that reason, you were probably expecting a big payday out of this. The complications for you, unfortunately, are numerous. I'll admit, I share some of the blame. I got lazy. Billionaire heiress rule numero uno is vary your routines. I've been taking the same path from Noonan's to my mother's office every Tuesday. That's on me. I gave you a false sense that this might work. The rest, though, that's on ya'll. Starting with these."

El raised her bound wrists.

"Granted, you got the heavy duty ties, which a lot of people forget, and no one wants to go with shackles or cuffs because locks can be picked, but the thing people forget about zip-ties is this." Here, the teen raised a knee, positioned her wrists above it, and slammed her hands down. The zip-tie split. "See?" she said, holding up her free hands. "My aunt taught me that trick." She hadn't even needed super strength either. Her kidnappers quickly grabbed her again to rebind her hands. "Double ties, people,” she insisted. “Double ties."

They slapped on two zip-ties for each wrist this time and bound them together with a third.

"That's it," El admonished them. "Take pride in your work. You'd think you hadn't done this before."

A gun was leveled in her face. "Shut. Up," a man ordered. The one with the potty mouth.

"No, because I'm helping you," El went on. "Look, this is not my first rodeo. I mean my mother is Lena Luthor, a woman for whom assassination attempts are the morning ride to work. Do you know how many times people have tried before you? When I was 6, a woman I didn't know tried to pick me up outside of my kindergarten acting like she was an associate of my mother's. When I was 12, armed men grabbed me outside a movie theater. Real sloppy. Not like you all. But they failed, just like you, and you want to know why?"

She looked between the kidnappers. They said nothing, so she continued anyway.

"Because of my other mom."

"What's a magazine editor got to do with this?" another spoke up. 'She' from before.

"Well, in addition to being a dynamite, media mogul, she also happens to be best friends with Superwoman."

That got another flutter from the crew. It had been a fun ride, and El felt particularly clever about breaking the zip-ties, especially since she had used the opportunity to hit the bracelet as well, but it was time to drop the hammer.

"So, this has been great. Really, just like old times," the girl said. She clapped her hands, as much as she could with the ties. "And round of applause to the whole team. Extraction, subduction, and keeping the van moving? A-plus kidnapping, but this is where I get off. You know I was tempted to offer you an out, but something tells me you all have priors, so I don't really feel bad about what's about to happen to you."

"What do you think is about to happen?" one of them asked with a sneer.

"I think the next sound you're going to hear is Superwoman ripping the doors off your van."

A silence settled over the interior of the vehicle, only the low rumble of the engine and the city outside vibrating within.

"Any second now," El added.

The van continued to drive, rolling to a slow stop at a light.

"It takes her a while," the girl continued. "Big city."

She heard the chuckle. Followed by the rending of metal as the front door of the van was ripped off. There was a scream from the driver, disappearing into the distant. The crew cursed. Too late. The back doors were the next thing to go and two of the team with them. The others panicked, pulling the side door open and leaping out, only to meet a swift blur as they were knocked to the ground. That just left Mr. Rude. He pulled his gun and tried to make for the gaping hole in the back of the van. El popped the zip-ties on her wrists and ankles instantly, grabbed him by the shoulder, and connected her fist with his face. He crumpled to the floor.

The girl pulled the bag off her head. She pointed a finger at the kidnapper. "That's for calling my Mom a bitch." She breathed then looked up. "Hello, Superwoman."

"Hey, El," the caped hero replied, arms on her hips, standing out the back of the van, observing the scene. "You okay?"

"Oh, please," the girl replied. "With these knuckleheads?" She popped the remains of the zip-ties from her wrists and hopped out of the van. The scene was rather hilarious. The van was half there and the mostly unconscious spread of people around it made it look like they had all exploded right out of it.

Superwoman patted the girl on the arm. "Are you sure you're all right?"

El nodded but huffed. "Yeah, it's just, 8 people? They could stand to put some effort in."

"Can you really blame them?" said the blonde hero. "I mean, how were they to know?"

"Well, it's insulting," El replied. She lifted her foot and dropped the heel of her boot on the hand of a kidnapper trying to go for a gun. "Don't people research?" She ground the heel in, just a bit, and heard the groan.

"El," Superwoman chided.

"Sorry." The girl raised the heel. Sirens were starting to approach. "Took them long enough. Oh, by the way, guy number 8 is working the hot dog cart on 5th and Amsterdam. You might want to pick him up."

"What's he look like?"

"Mid-30's, medium build, short, brown hair, plaid shirt, smells like hot dogs."

"One sec," Superwoman replied and jetted into the sky.

El watched her go as the squad cars pulled up and NCPD officers hopped out. She pointed at the hero's path.

"She'll be right back."

A moment later, the red and blue alighted down to the ground, a very confused man held up by the collar in her hand.

"This guy?" she asked.

"Yeah, that's the one," El said. "By the way he's got a..." She patted her jacket.

Superwoman quickly reached in and pulled out the pistol. She shook the man by the scruff of his neck. "That was not nice." She passed him to a waiting officer before turning back to El. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm just..." The girl suddenly tilted her head and grimaced. She held up her wrist. "You mind?"

"Ah, of course," said Superwoman. She grabbed the bracelet and ran a finger over the center jewel, deactivating the emergency signal.

El breathed a sigh of relief and scratched briefly at her ear. One of the disadvantages of having super senses was she could actually hear the ultrasonic frequency the warning beacon sent out.

"Thank you," she said. She held the bracelet up and wiggled her wrist. "Not too long now."

Superwoman began to lead her away from the scene, motioning to the officers that she had this. "Yeah," she said. "Your Mom told me it's 2 weeks until the big day." When they were far enough out of earshot, she leaned in closer. "Are you sure you're okay, little one?"

"Jeju, seriously, I'm fine," the girl insisted. "What could they do to me anyways?"

"There's such a thing as psychological trauma, El."

"I've had worse that this."

"Yes, that's why I asked," the woman said with a knowing tilt of her head.

El sighed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," her Jeju replied. "Do you need a ride to Mom's office?"

"No, I can walk it." The girl looked wistfully at the sky. "Or?"

"You know the rules," Jeju was quick to correct.

"2 weeks," El moaned.

The blonde shook a finger at her. "Even then, it's not jetting around the city whenever it's convenient, you know?"

"Says Ms. I-Flew-Here-On-A-Bus," her child countered immediately.

Jeju groaned. "Why your Mom insists on telling that story-"

"Because it's hilarious."

The woman shook her head. She finally patted the girl's shoulder again. "I'm going to wrap things up here. See you later?"

"Yeah."

"Love you," Superwoman whispered.

"Love you, too," El whispered back.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aunt sparring and Mom talks, what could be better?

El Mayarah Danvers-Luthor was not an ordinary teenager. Even before some recent events granted her with new, extraordinary abilities, she was already set for a pretty non-conventional life. When your Mom’s a genius billionaire and your other mom is the editor-in-chief of a major, worldwide publication, you tend to expect these things. As if that weren’t enough, her aunt was the director of a major government department tasked with, well, Extranormal Operations, and, oh right, her other mom was a superhero from another planet.

El, of course, wouldn’t trade a single bit of it for anything. Especially because in just two weeks she would be graduating from high school. A major milestone for any young person, but for her it was more than just an entrance into adulthood, it meant the training wheels were coming off, and for El Mayarah that meant the sky was literally the limit.

* * *

“So, still putting on the cape after graduation, huh?” Alex Danvers asked as she let a light series of punches fly and watched her niece bob and weave between them fluidly.

“That’s the plan,” El replied, batting the last fist away and following up with a shot of her own.

The weekly sparring sessions had taken on a different tone since the teen’s powers had manifested. Still playful but there was a serious bent to it, a feeling that the DEO Director was not just teaching her niece techniques for her own defense but things she might use in fighting much more exotic opponents, and, of course, the inclusion of the red sun lamps early on. Her aunt insisted she didn’t actually need them, that she would be more than capable of taking the girl on mano-a-mano, but that this was a lesson in control and how to appreciate having strength. Still, El wondered how much of it was bluster, how much of it was the older woman not quite ready to admit the girl could actually take her.

“I’m surprised they haven’t talked you out of it yet,” Alex added with spinning back kick.

El caught it deftly, holding the woman at bay. “Since when have Mom or Jeju ever been able to talk me out of anything?”

Alex stared back. She wiggled her toes against the girl’s arm. El dropped her leg. The redhead stepped back and reset her footing.

“You have to know they’re not exactly excited about you throwing yourself at this.”

“I know,” El said with a shrug. “But they said they’d support me, whatever I wanted.”

“And you want this?” The woman asked.

El breathed. She’d gotten used to the red sun radiation. She could even admit it was nice to break a sweat, to feel even a little exertion, and it made it all the better when she stepped out of it into the yellow daylight. Even now, though, she could clinch her fist and feel it all, just there under the surface, waiting to spring out again.

“More than anything,” she said.

Alex nodded and then came at her. Block, kick, punch. They danced. They’d gotten good at it. Alex had, more than once, commented that El might have given Kara a go in her day, and El knew that was the truth. The DEO chief spun and let the girl move past her, grabbing her arm and twisting. El followed through, letting the momentum of the twist take her, flipping and landing solidly, wrenching her arm out of her aunt’s grasp. She turned, dropped, and swept at Alex’s legs. The elder Danvers hopped and rolled over the girl, popping up just as El came racing towards her, leapt and kicked with both feet. Alex caught her niece’s double kick, absorbed it, then shoved back, sending the girl flying to the floor. El dropped, rolled, and kipped up, to her aunt’s near astonishment. The teen didn’t wait, though, but threw a haymaker, which Alex easily caught and turned the girl’s wrist, but El was ready. She turned faster, twisting her wrist out of Alex’s grasp to grasp her aunt’s. She continued the turn, set her hips against Alex’s, pulled, and flipped the woman over her back to belly flop the mat most unceremoniously.

“Ah-HA!” El cheered. “I got you! 2 years of training and I finally flipped you. Oh, yes!” The girl exulted over her aunt, still prone on the ground. Quite prone, in fact, which the girl noticed after a minute of self-congratulations. “Alex?”

She stepped forward to hear a mild groaning from the woman.

“Oh my god, Alex! I’m so sorry!” El apologized. “The red sun lamps were on, and I thought it was okay, and I just kind of let loose. Are you-AHH!” She added as a leg connected with the back of her ankles, knocking the girl on her back.

As it was El’s turn to groan from the mat, she heard a very seasoned, and very self-satisfied, voice say, “Don’t get cocky, kiddo.”

* * *

It had been a number of months since the Eradicator incident that was pretty directly involved in El’s getting her powers, desperate many previous attempts on the girl’s part, a number of them ill-advised. Since then it had been twice-weekly sessions with Jeju and Alex. (Despite a brief suspension in January following a somewhat unsanctioned, but very, very cool, incident around the holidays.)

Sparring with her Aunt while also familiarizing herself with the inner workings of the DEO and the various meta-human, extraterrestrial, and human threats and issues they oversaw. Officially familiarizing herself anyway. The girl had was already very familiar with the DEO, long before she had been allowed to be. And superhero apprenticing with Superwoman, working on her powers, growing in strength and control. It was nice to spend time with Jeju, but especially in this. The girl knew it was something Kara really loved, mentoring a new possible hero, and passing down a lot of the wisdom she had stumbled through herself back in her early days.

Nothing official yet. What outdoors activities they had been involved with were done either entirely at night, in the middle of nowhere on some test range, or both. There had been a brief media buzz after the Eradicator fight with people wondering just what black-clad figure had been working double-team with Superwoman, but the DEO had blocked most good pictures and the rest just kind of fizzled out.

But not for long. Soon the world was going to know there was a new hero on the block, and, oh Rao, was the girl chomping at the bit to see it happen.

* * *

El kicked off her shoes as she stepped into the door of the penthouse. The warm smell of cooking hit her nose. Her tastes hadn’t really changed since getting her powers, but, due to the superhuman metabolism no doubt, she found she was much more excited at the prospect of eating.

“Hi, sweetie,” came Mom’s voice.

El dropped her bag and stepped into the kitchen to see Lena, sweatshirt and messy bun, standing at the stove. The dark-haired woman gave her daughter a brief glance over her shoulder and a smile before turning back to her cooking.

“How was practice?” She asked.

“Fine,” El said. “I flipped Alex.”

Lena glanced again, surprised. “You didn’t.”

The girl nodded with a grin.

“Did she pretend to be really hurt?”

“Yes,” El replied curiously.

“And then knock you on your back when you weren’t looking?”

“Yes!” El replied indignantly.

Lena laughed. “She did that to me the first time I flipped her. Alex does not like admitting when she’s beaten.”

El had to agree. She watched the woman stir for a moment, then set her hands on the island bar between them and flipped forward. The girl launched herself into the air, head over heels, spinning quickly then slowing to finally float down and sit on the edge of the island, facing her mother.

“I saw that,” the woman said without turning around.

“Saw what?” El asked with a smirk.

Lena gave her daughter a serious look, for all of a second, before she laughed and turned the stove down. “You’re as bad as your Jeju, sometimes,” she moaned. “I told you about the time I caught her floating with you when you were an infant.”

“And how you freaked out.”

“I didn’t freak out,” the woman replied. “I was concerned.”

El had to grin. Lena returned that with a somber but caring look.

“I know you’re eager.”

“Eager is putting it mildly,” El couldn’t help but comment.

“But we didn’t pick graduation as some arbitrary deadline,” Mom went on. “We wanted to give you time to prepare, to make sure you knew how to use your powers, not just effectively but responsibly.” The woman leveled a loving finger for emphasis. “And so you would have time to really come to terms with all this.”

El nodded. She knew the reasons. She understood the reasons, but there was still the door, the one she had waited for for so long, the one that for the longest time seemed locked and bolted by her own genetics, the one that now sat tantalizingly close, almost open a crack. She wanted to walk through. El wanted to step through and see what really lay on the other side.

“And,” Lena added, stepping closer to rest her hands on her daughter’s knees. “So we would have to come to terms with it, too.”

El smiled. She looked down at green eyes that matched her own, that swam in love, and worry.

“El, you know, if you don’t want to do this-“

“I do, Mom,” El whispered. “I do.”

“I know,” the woman replied. “But if you don’t, or you change your mind, or you want to do something else, know that’s okay. Life is a million choices. Some things stay with us and some things change. You have to follow your own path.”

“I know,” said El. “I just… I want this. I want to do this. I want to do good.”

“You do good already, El,” Mom said with a hand through the girl’s hair. “You are good, and even when you do this, you’ll still have other good to do. A more ordinary kind, but, I think you’ll find, it can be even better. Your Jeju and I both lead extraordinary lives, but we never forget the most important thing is how we treat each other.”

El stared at her Mom. She wiped a tear off the woman’s cheek. She leaned in and wrapped her arm’s around Lena’s neck. No matter how big she got, no matter how strong she got, this would always be her safe space.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, too, Ellie baby.”

The teen squeezed tight, wrapping her legs around the woman as well. The stayed like that for a long moment, heedless of dinner still simmering, of the hour, or the world outside.

“Ellie,” Mom whispered. “Put me back down on the ground, please.”

The girl grinned into her mother’s hair as she floated them back down to the kitchen floor. Lena shook her head but still planted a kiss of her daughter’s cheek. 

“Go wash up,” she added. “Dinner will be ready soon.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graduation Day, Part 1. Everyone's coming!
> 
> Short snippet before we really get into it.  
> Just trying to get these updates out. Thanks for reading.

“So, got your speech written yet?” Jeju asked at dinner.

“For?” El replied between bites.

“Graduation?” Jeju said. “You do remember you’re the valedictorian, right?”

“Oh, that,” said the teen. “Yeah, for the most part. I mean, I know what I’m going to say.”

Silence settled over the table. When El looked up it was to both of her mothers subtly leaning towards her.

“Which is?” Mom probed.

The girl had to roll her eyes. “Oh, you know, these were the best years of our lives. The horizon is nothing but potential. We’re all shining beacons or pure possibility. The sky’s the limit. Dreams are real. Everything’s gonna work out. See you in ten years. I thought I’d hit all the cliches.”

Even Mom had to laugh at that. “But seriously,” added Kara. “If you need help…”

El waved the comment off. “Thanks, Jeju, but I got this.”

“Well, I’m sure it’ll be better than mine,” commented Mom. “By a long shot.”

Kara raised an eyebrow. “I don’t think I’ve heard that speech.”

“You weren’t missing anything, I promise.”

“What?” Asked El. “What was it?”

Lena sighed. “It was a very poetic, inspiring, and completely hollow speech written by Lillian.”

Jeju visibly shuddered. “Okay, that’s something we don’t need to dwell on.”

Mom patted her daughter’s hand. “As long as it’s from you, it’ll be fine.”

El smiled. “You’ll love it. I promise,” she said. “Especially the dance routine.”

“Ooh!” Kara exclaimed.

* * *

As is true of so many senior years, the last week of school passed for the graduating class with pomp but very little circumstance. It’s a sad truth of life that the big moments often come with less grandeur and importance than we might like. Goodbyes are soft. We don’t really know them until they’re gone.

Graduation day, however, dawned bright and clear and so full of potential it was a wonder if anything was going to get started at all. For El Danvers-Luthor, at least.

The teen awoke on that very morning, much like she had the morning before, and so many other mornings, with her cat sleeping on her face. El had gotten quite used to Streaky’s little night-time idiosyncrasy. She told herself it was the pet’s way of showing affection. El let Streaky stay there for some time, until it finally occurred to her.

When she sat up suddenly, the cat leapt with an annoyed _mrrw_ and landed on the bed. He swished his tail in a huff and went to find somewhere to lick himself in peace. El paid him a moment’s notice, but her mind quickly re-situated itself to the matter at hand.

Today was the day.

The girl got ready in a flash, which was saying something, as her morning routine these days tended to take seconds rather than minutes. She sped up the stairs and skidded to a stop on the kitchen floor.

“Good morning,” Mom said as she stood at the fridge. “I thought you’d sleep in.”

“Are you kidding?” Replied El. “I’m not missing a moment of today.” She leaned in and kissed her Mom on the cheek.

“It’s a big day, graduation girl.”

“That it is,” the girl said. She looked around the kitchen. “So, uh, what do graduation girls get for breakfast on big days?”

Lena laughed as she pulled out a carton of juice from the fridge. She pointed to the table where a very large paper bag sat with a very recognizable name of the front. “Jeju ran out for bagels.”

El clapped her hands, kissed her Mom on the cheek again, and sped over to the table. She quickly fished out an asiago cheese encrusted bagel, briefly speeding back to the kitchen for a knife, and began methodically covering every inch of it in cream cheese goodness. The girl looked around.

“Jeju?” She asked.

“On her way to pick up your Grandma,” Lena replied.

El clapped her hands before biting into the bagel. She quickly covered the bitten spot with cream cheese and went in again. She was halfway through, the bagel for cream cheese than bread, when she finally noticed Mom staring at her.

“Do I have something on my face?” The teen asked. She wiped a fair amount of schmear off her nose.

“Not that,” Mom said with a nostalgic look.

El got the gist and couldn’t help but look down at her bagel.

“I know it’s cliche,” Lena said. “And you will hear it a million times today.”

El blushed.

“But we are so very proud of you.”

El chewed quietly. “Did you think I wasn’t going to graduate?” She added with a smirk

“Oh, we knew you would,” Mom said as she strode towards the table. “But it’s still something to see. It’s still an amazing thing to watch your child grow, even if that was going to happen regardless.” 

She ran a hand through the girl’s hair. El let herself lean into the touch.

“You’ve grown up so much, especially in the last year,” Lena continued. “I still remember the little girl who sat at this table, so tiny, so ready to meet the world.”

El held the hand against her cheek. “You’re as bad as Jeju, you know that?”

“Oh, Ellie baby,” the dark-haired woman said with a shake of her head. “Today, I’m going to be worse. You see this?”She pointed at her face, at the immaculately prepared mascara. “This is after three applications because I keep bursting into tears. Last night, Kara and I could not get to sleep, we just kept reminiscing.”

El smiled and kissed her Mom’s hand. For a moment, it looked like Lena might be working on her fourth application, as the tears rimmed her eyes. Thankfully, they were both saved by a knock at the door. Lena crossed to it and opened it to find a few familiar faces on the other side.

“Alex!” She exclaimed. “Kelly! We weren’t expecting you for a while.”

“Thought we’d drop in early,” the eldest Danvers replied. 

“Well, Kara’s on her way with Eliza,” Lena added. “They shouldn’t be too long.”

“Perfect,” said Kelly. “We actually had to make a pick up of our own.” And the black woman stepped aside to reveal a third figure in the doorway. One El quickly caught sight of from the kitchen.

“Astrid!” She screamed and sped past the adults to wrap her arms fully around the curly haired, young woman in cadet grays. She squeezed tight and then lifted, elevating her cousin right off her feet.

“Oh, god,” said Astrid. “I hate that you can do that now.”

El set her back down with a laugh, and they quickly got to hugging in earnest. When they parted, words flew fast.

“How long are you in town?”

“About a week. Then I got summer programs to get back to.”

“Oh, Rao, we have to catch up,” said El. “There’s so much. And look at you!” She patted her cousin’s arms. “West Point has made you so buff!”

“I know, right?” Replied Astrid with a flex. “I’ve been helping some of the boys get acquainted with the mat. Face first.”

“That’s my girl,” Alex was quick to comment.

Hugs were finally exchanged between the girl of the hour and her aunts before El and Astrid settled at the table for conversation.

“I don’t know what it is,” Kelly said as Lena handed her a cup of coffee. “But I never get over watching those two.”

“Isn’t it just the best?” Lena said. “Since day one.”

“I remember,” added Alex.

Some things never get old.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graduation Day, part deux. More guests.
> 
> Sorry for the short bit again, but I'm trying to update daily to keep the story going. Don't worry, the real, teary, feely part's coming up.

It wasn’t long before the penthouse door opened again and in walked Kara followed by the white-haired figure of one Eliza Danvers.

“Grandma!” The girls called in unison, sparking another round of hugs.

“Look at my two girls,” Eliza said after many squeezes. “All grown up. And Astrid.” She squeezed the young cadet’s arms. “So buff!”

“That’s what I said!” El added.

Eliza snaked an arm around the soon-to-be graduated girl’s waist and pulled her in. “Big day,” the old woman said.

“You have no idea,” El replied and nuzzled her head against her grandmother’s.

“Oh Rao,” came Kara, her voice suddenly shaky. She sniffled audibly.

Eliza chuckled. “She was like that the whole ride over.”

“I’m fine. I’m fine,” the blonde insisted while fanning her face.

“Kara, honestly,” Lena chided her wife. She sniffled. “Don’t start or you’ll get me started.”

Kelly stared between them, then glanced at her own daughter. “If you two get going, I’ll be right behind you.”

“Babe, please,” Alex added, wiping her eye casually. “We have to be strong.” But the cracking of her voice at the end did not sound like it.

“I think we might be the only ones here who can keep it together,” Eliza commented with an elbow towards Astrid and a squeeze to El.

“Speak for yourself,” the graduate replied, sniffling herself.

The hugs started again. Then stopped under threat of everyone having to fix their face.

“So, Querl and Nia are meeting us there, along with J’onn, M’gann, and James,” Kara said, counting all of them out on her fingers.

“Rao,” El had to exclaim. “Am I going to have a whole row of people there for me?”

“At this point, kiddo,” Alex pointed out. “I think you’ll have a whole section.”

El beamed.

“I guess that’s everyone,” Lena said.

“Oh, wait, no,” Kara suddenly added. “What about-“ 

And in answer to her question, there was a knock on the door. The balcony door. The group turned to see three figures alighting outside, two under their own power, one in the arms of another.

“We got Kents!” El called out as she rushed the door. She practically tackled Clark, not that it had much effect. The once farm boy only smiled and hugged her back.

“Come here, sweetness,” Lois said as she took her turn, having been set down by her husband only moments before the dark-haired graduate came barreling in. She kissed El on the cheek. “Big day.”

“So, people keep telling me,” the girl replied with a chuckle.

“‘Sup, L-Girl,” her cousin, Jonathan, said as he, too, stepped in.

“J-Man,” she replied. 

They shook hands in a faux-professional manner, as was their habit, before punching each other in the arm, as was their tradition.

“It’s nice I don’t have to hold back on those anymore,” Superboy said with a cheesy grin.

“Oh, you weren’t holding back?” El asked with fake surprise. She looked at arm. “Well, that’s disappointing.”

“Hey, just remember, I’m still faster than you,” said Jonathan.

“You are not.”

“Totally am!”

“No, because Jeju’s faster than you.”

“And?”

“And I’m faster than Jeju,” El added with a smirk.

“That was never proven!” Kara added from across the room.

After yet another round of hugs, and Jonathan helping himself to several bagels, the group settled to small talk.

“So, how was the flight?” Kelly asked.

“Not bad,” Clark replied. “A bit of a gale over the midwest, but sunny and warm.”

The group nodded along, with more than a few eyes drifting in Lois’s direction. The woman could only laugh.

“I swear, I never get used to that,” she said. “Convenience be damned, one of these days, I’m just going coach.”

“Speaking of which, how are we all getting there?” Clark added.

“Oh, we’ve got cars coming,” Mom said. “No need to worry.”

Still, El’s eyes darted around, counting. “You know,” she added with a sly tone to her voice. “We do have multiple supers. Between the 4 of us, we could probably handle everyone.”

The group went silent as it was clear no one, except for maybe Jonathan, was really taking the idea seriously. Still, El persisted.

“I mean, Jeju and Kal would have to double up, but-“

“No,” the adults nearly said in unison.

El threw her hands up in mock defense. Astrid shook her head seriously.

“El, love ya,” she said. “But I’ve done that once, and I’m really not eager to try it again.”

El threw her hands up further in mock indignation.

“Excuse me for saving us all the hassle of traffic and parking.”

Mom laid a gentle, if steady, hand on her shoulder. “That’s the beauty of having chauffeurs, Ellie. We already don’t have to worry about those things.” The dark-haired woman checked her watch. “Speaking of which, we should probably get going if we want to get good seats.”

Everyone seemed to agree with that and collectively started pulling together bags and jackets.

“El, you should have just enough time to get changed,” Lena added.

The girl stopped. She looked down at her clothes. T-shirt, jeans, sneakers, the usual. “I’m wearing this,” she said.

She looked between her mothers, who exchanged a second’s-brief glance, before looking back at her.

“I’m wearing a robe!” El insisted. “Can I please be comfortable underneath it?”

The glance was exchanged again, and Kara and Lena looked back at their daughter. She sighed.

“I’m bringing a change of clothes for the restaurant,” she said with a groan. That seemed to please everyone.

With a last look around to make sure nothing had been left, and a quickly swallowed bagel for the more metabolically inclined, the whole lot of them were out the door. Of course, then it took two trips to get them all down the elevator, where a trio of town cars was already waiting. El and Astrid quickly claimed a car all their own, with the semi-reluctant acceptance of Jonathan because he wouldn’t fit anywhere else. As they stuffed themselves inside, the curly-haired cadet slapped her cousin on the shoulder as the car took off.

“Let’s get you graduated!” She said.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Graduation day, for real. El takes the stage for her valedictorian speech.  
> Get your kleenexes ready.
> 
> At last, we're here. Sorry for the delay, but you're going to like it, I promise.

The arena was packed. El’s wasn’t the only high school graduating today, or even the biggest, but with some clever maneuvering by her family, and James, J’onn, M’gann, Nia, and Querl somehow managing to reserve an entire section between the five of them, the entire Danvers-Luthor-Olsen-Kent-etc. clan got themselves situated with an excellent view of the stage and with the stage having an excellent view of them, ensuring that El, and everyone up there, would be able to see any possible, embarrassing antics the teen’s family decided to pull. 

El saw them to their seats then had to head inside to queue with the rest of her classmates. The air was palpably excited, anxious even, the bottled emotions of students who had waited many years for this moment and couldn’t possibly wait a second long all ready to burst. El tried to breathe. She was by no means foreign to public speaking or even all that nervous about it, but everyone was right: this was a big day, for everyone, for her parents, for her, and one couldn’t help but hang a lot of expectation on the next half hour or so.

Eventually they were called out and the graduating class marched to their seats to thunderous applause. El took her position on stage next to the salutatorian, the principal, and some noted faculty. The principal’s opening speech was as-to-be-expected, just inspiring enough to be heartfelt, just scripted enough that it could be about any graduating class. With some light remarks, the floor was then opened to the salutatorian and, finally, the valedictorian, El.

When the young woman’s name was called there was polite applause and, above that, a very distinctive _whoop!_ that could only have come from one section. El chose to look at her notes, not in the least embarrassed, but, if she met their gaze too soon, she wasn’t entirely sure she would be able to get through this.

After a practiced greeting and thanks to the faculty, administration, and her fellow classmates, El took a deep breath and began her speech. “These were the best years of our lives,” she said, calmly, seriously. “The horizon is nothing but potential. We are all shining beacons of pure possibility. The sky is the limit. Dreams are real. Everything is going to work out.” And with one last look at her cards, “See you in ten years.”

The teen flipped the notecard over, setting it aside on the podium as she gazed out over an audience, silent and somewhat confused. She breathed again.

“Well,” she said. “Now that the cliches are out of the way.”

Some genuine laughter followed, even from the faculty, and from one section of the audience. Even without super-vision, El couldn’t help but see a blonde figure turn to the people sitting around her, pointing excitedly and mouthing, “That’s my kid!”

“This is a big day,” El went on. “It’s hard not to think of it that way. It’s hard not to hang a lot of hope on this, on what it means right now, on what comes after. We’ve been waiting 18 years for this. Some of us, maybe, 19 or 20.”

More laughter followed.

“And while it’s tempting to make this a very, very big day, in many ways it’s a day like no other. We woke up, much the same as we had the day before, with all the same skills and talents, with all the same foibles and biases. When we walk across this stage and receive a diploma, we will be very much the same people we were before we received it. In one sense, this day means very little. A piece of paper cannot make us an adult. It cannot really make us anything more than what we think and know we are, and that’s disappointing, but it’s also, I like to think, inspiring. Because what the piece of paper signifies is accomplishment. It is not the accomplishment itself. We have already achieved that. Which means we are, already, exactly what we hoped this day would make us.”

The young woman looked over the audience of eager faces, for a moment, genuinely attentive to what she was saying.

“We are stepping out into adulthood, the ‘real world’ as we are told, but, in many ways, we have already stepped out into it. We are already in the real world. We are already adults. We may not feel that way, but when have we ever? When have we ever been fully prepared for the next thing? All of life’s great moments come before we are ready for them. In the same way, all of life's great goals come after we have already achieved them.”

El sighed, a wave passing over her, the words as much for herself as for anyone listening.

“So, whatever the next thing is, the next challenge, we can step out in confidence, knowing we are as prepared as we could be, and, thanks to the people on this stage and the people in the audience and the people sitting next to us, we are as supported as we have always been. It is to those people, in fact, that I would like to dedicate this day in thanks.”

El turned to the people on the stage.

“To the faculty and staff of NC Prep: I am sorry.” There was a general look of confusion from the robed individuals on the stage, and a general chuckling from the student body. “I am sorry that for four years you have had to deal with me being right all the time.”

That got a big laugh.

“I know that I could have graduated a number of years ago,” El added. “And some of you think I really should have, but I had a childhood to experience, and, if growth only happens when we are challenged, then I may have just made you all better teachers and better administrations, so, I guess what I’m really saying is: you’re welcome.”

El turned to the student body, already rolling in the aisles.

“To my fellow students,” she said. “I will never forget any of you. It’s one of the joys, and downsides, of an eidetic memory.” Chuckles. “But, for all the good and bad, all the cliques and the gossip, it is obvious that we have had the quintessential high school experience, and, while some of us couldn’t wait to leave,” El slowly raised her hand to further laughter, “I know we will look back on this one day with all the rose-tinted ignorance of nostalgia. All the boring parts will be forgotten, the hard edges blunted with time, and the good bits polished to a shine. I look forward to that day.”

The teen gave the crowd a once-over. The smiles and nods were appreciated. She looked up, now, to the audience, her eyes landing on one section as she took a deep breath.

“To all those who have shaped me,” she said. “Uncles and Aunts, Grandparents and Cousins, by blood and choice and circumstance, to everyone who held me from birth until now, to those who named me and nicknamed me, words cannot express my gratitude. ‘Gratitude’ itself is insufficient. I know that there has never been a moment in my life where I have not had one, if not multiple, safe spaces to be, willing ears to listen. I would not be who I am without you, and, whatever comes next, I know I will become who I must thanks to you.”

Laughter had now given way to sniffles. Even the most stoic in the group suddenly had something in their eye.

“And to the two people whom I owe my existence to more than anyone in the entire universe,” El said, feeling the emotions well in her own throat and willing herself to move past them, to get this out, to say what must be said. “If words are insufficient for these, then there is nothing I could say or do to adequately express how much you mean to me.”

She met their eyes now, blue and green. For this moment, they were the only three people in the room, the only three in the world.

“You brought me into this world,” the teen soldiered on. “More than that, you have loved me every moment since, and I have loved you. Despite the wide, open world before me, despite all the infinite possibility I am faced with, despite the choices I must make, I know, in my heart, that I can make them, that I can face them and anything else, because I have you. Because you have supported me in every venture, and I have no doubt you will support me whatever comes next.”

It was clear to see that Mom was going to need to apply her makeup a fourth time. Jeju wasn’t much better off. But the girl was not done.

“I would not be here without you,” she said, tears in her own eyes. “I would not want to be here without you.” She locked eyes with her mothers, and they with her. She whispered, “ _khap ukiem raopo.”_ Not enough to be picked up by the microphone, and, to anyone else, it would appear as a trembling of the lip brought on by emotion, but the young woman knew it was just loud enough for Kara to hear, and the way Jeju squeezed Mom’s hand told her the message had been received. Kara leaned into her wife’s ear, and the look on Lena’s face told El they both understood.

With one last, heavy sigh, and a trembling smile, El nodded. She turned, at last, back to the room. 

“Well,” she said with a laugh. “I’ve said what I came to say. Everything else is gravy.”

The audience applauded. The audience cheered, one section especially loudly as El took her seat, and the pomp and circumstance went on from there. The procession started, and her fellow students took the stage one-by-one to receive their long-awaited diplomas. When El’s turn came in the alphabetical order, she took up position.

“El Danvers-Luthor,” the principal called. 

El shook the woman’s hand to cheers and screams. She held her diploma aloft and waved at her section, already on their feet. Soon, the documents had all been handed out. The graduating class stood to their feet, and, with one last congratulations from their principal, a hundred cloth-covered, cardboard hats took to the skies.

The teen made her way to those among her class she most wanted to see. There were hugs and handshakes, more than a few acquaintances also putting in their congratulations for what seemed universally agreed upon as “one helluva speech”. Finally, El got back up to her section, her people very much waiting for her.

Nia was the first. The woman practically elbowed past everyone else to tackle the girl. El took the hug, and the many that followed, with much appreciation. Everyone was beside themselves, impressed, moved, and touched all at once. J’onn, on any other day a Martian in control of his emotions, was so overcome M’gann said he was on the verge of shape-shifting back to green. He gave her a tearful hug. Even Jonathan, who was nearly required to pretend to be aloof, had a tear in his eye. James smiled through tears. Clark, too. Lois was waving her face to stop the crying. Kelly was beaming with joy. Alex was not losing it but had simply lost it, long ago. And Astrid was just a mess. El hugged her.

The last two, waiting patiently for her to make her way to them, were the first two. Mom’s face was, indeed, in need of a touch-up. In fact, it was clear she had already gone at it with a tissue to at least make herself presentable. Jeju hadn’t even bothered, sniffling and full-on weeping with her arm wrapped around her wife. El stepped forward and let them both embrace her as one.

“No parent could be prouder,” Kara whispered. “On this world or any other.”

“We couldn’t wish for a better child,” Lena added. She squeezed El tighter and added, with a laugh, “We could not design one.”

El let herself weep into their shoulders, tears of pure joy. If this day meant anything, it was this, right here. It was them.

At last, the three of them parted, still blubbering messes but laughing and smiling through it. El turned to the gathered crowd, her people. She laughed.

“Anyone else hungry?” She asked.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Toasts and first flights. The new Supergirl is here!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the update delay. Life is life, but it feels good to be back stepping out with El. Thanks for reading!

Dinner was an affair. When you descend upon on unsuspecting restaurant with nearly 2 dozen people, 4 of whom possess prodigious, some might say “supernatural”, appetites, well, it’s a good thing Mom thought to leverage her Luthor influence and just rent the whole place out. 

El loved every minute of it.

Sure, it’s nice being the center of attention, but, really, it was everyone else there. It was a room full of people she loved, who loved her, who loved each other, celebrating a momentous occasion, one of life’s great milestones, but, in truth, celebrating life. Celebrating what it means to have all of this, all of these, to recognize that friends around a table is something worth living for. It is the meaning of life itself.

Something that was further ingrained when Mom and Jeju stood up and raised their glasses. The table quickly mirrored them. El stared, eyes already shining with tears.

“To our daughter,” Kara said, her voice cracking from the first syllable.

“You have been many things in your life,” Lena added, also barely holding it together.

“You will be so many more,” Jeju went on.

“The one thing that will always stay the same,” Mom added.

“Is that we have adored every single moment,” came Kara’s addition.

“And we love you more than there are words to say,” Lena concluded.

The glasses were raised. “Cheers,” Alex added. The table toasted the young woman and drank to her health.

“To El Mayarah Danvers-Luthor!” Astrid was quick to add, shoving her own glass high into the sky. “Genius. Bad ass. Game night champion.” 

El laughed and punched the sky.

“My best friend,” the curly-haired cadet said. “You are going to conquer the world.”

El wrapped her arm around her cousin. They squeezed each other.

“You know,” El couldn’t help but reply. “Given recent circumstances that’s a little ominous.”

There was a chuckle around the table. Astrid gave her a serious look.

“You assume I didn’t mean it that way,” she said. That got a real laugh.

“I would like to add,” Kelly piped in once it had died down.

“Oh, babe,” Alex spoke. “We’re all already on the verge of tears. If you go, you know, we’re going to be crying into our cheesecake.”

“No, no,” El objected. “Let the woman speak.” She glanced towards either end of the table. “I mean, everyone’s taking turns, right? Because this is like yellow sun radiation, I just feed off of it.”

After more laughter, Kelly cleared her throat seriously. “I wanted to say to our graduate,” she said with a deep breath. “To someone I am very proud to call ‘niece.’”

Astrid leaned into El and whispered, in a not really all that low voice, “She had options?”

“Yeah,” El quickly replied. “We did that open call when I was six, remember? No one else made the cut.”

Kelly cleared her throat again, which brought both of the laughing girls to quick attention. “To El, I know there is so much ahead of you. I hope, above all, you never forget what your real superpower is.”

El smiled. Her eyes met her Aunt’s. “What is it?” She asked, and Astrid nearly spit out her drink.

Kelly only laughed and shook her head. She leaned across the table and tapped a finger against El’s forehead and against her chest. Alex’s head lolled back.

“Oh, babe,” she moaned.

But Kelly just smiled, and El smiled back.

“Thanks,” the young woman added with sincerity.

After that, cake appeared, and food became the center of attention once more, saving everyone what was sure to be a continued cry-fest.

Thus, when the various parties finally took their various ways home, peeling off group-by-group, most at the restaurant, some at the apartment, it was each fully sated with good grub and better company. El and Astrid hugged goodbye at the door to the penthouse, now well into the evening, even while Kelly and Alex were halfway to the elevator, neither young woman quite ready to let the other go.

“Froyo?” The curly-haired woman asked.

“Soooo much,” El moaned in reply. They finally parted. “I’ll call you.”

“You better,” was Astrid’s reply as she stepped back to finally join her mothers, who each wrapped an arm around her. 

With a last wave from Alex, the day, it seemed, was finally done. El stepped back into her home and let the door shut solidly. When she turned to the apartment, it was to her two favorite people in the world lounging on the sofa, the ones who had been here first, fitting, they should be the last. El smiled to herself, ran, hopped, and landed on the couch in the space they had purposefully left in between them.

“That was fun,” the young woman said with a genuine smile. “Think everyone would be up to do it all again tomorrow?”

There was groan and a laugh from each of her mothers, but, probably as a result of a long and happy marriage, not even the girl could figure out which had done which or if it hadn’t been both from the both of them. Jeju wrapped a warm arm around her daughter’s shoulders.

“Doesn’t have to be over just yet,” the blonde woman said with a raise of an eyebrow that sparked the young woman’s curiosity immediately.

El glanced between the two women. Lena reached over and pulled a long, thin box from behind the couch and set it on the coffee table. El’s eyes went wide with childish glee.

“Presents?” She asked, eagerly clapping her hands.

Mom motioned towards the box. “Just something I’ve been working on.”

That seriously got El going. Knowing her mother, it was sure to be something she did not want to miss. El grabbed the lid of the box and lifted it away. She parted the tissue paper inside to reveal a pair of glasses and a bracelet sitting side-by-side in the velvet-lined interior. A pair of glasses and bracelet that looked identical to the ones she was wearing.

El’s brow raised. “The glasses and bracelet I already own,” she said with barely concealed confusion. She glanced between Kara and Lena. “Ya’ll are so good at gifts.”

“Put them on,” Lena chided gently as she reached over and removed the bracelet from El’s wrist.

With a shrug, the young woman stripped off her glasses and set them aside. She put on the new glasses, which fit, unsurprisingly, just like her old ones, and her mothers helped fit on the bracelet. When it was all done, El looked, and felt, pretty much the same as she had a second ago. She was starting to wonder if this was some kind of contrived life lesson about how milestones rarely transform as much as we think but only reveal us for what we already are, which, frankly, felt silly considering the sentiment had already been expertly captured in the young woman’s excellent graduation speech.

El stared again between her parents. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful…”

“Stand up,” was all Jeju said.

El complied. Kara pointed to one side of the living room. The young woman went to stand over there.

“Now,” Kara instructed. “Take the glasses off.”

El’s mouth opened to ask, then stopped. Her eyes went wide. _No way,_ she thought. _No way. No way._ El squared herself, tamping down her own excitement for a second. She had to do this right. She stared forward, trying her best serious face. She reached up and, so like she had seen a certain hero do so many times, she tore off the glasses. El looked down.

Nothing.

She looked up with not a little disappointment to find her parents laughing quietly to themselves. Lena was quick to wave the girl down.

“Put them back on,” she said.

El did.

“Now,” Lena told her. “Take them off, but, this time, think ‘suit up.’”

“‘Suit up,’” El repeated. She reached for the glasses, the words brimming in her head. She pulled them off.

The bracelet dissolved, turning from a silver band to a million streaming particles that ran down the young woman’s arm, up and over her chest. The suit formed over her, spreading down and out. The crest, full across her chest, solidified, and, as the girl stared in wonder, she could feel a cape spring from her shoulders to cascade, waterfall-like, down her back. In moments, the young woman was fully-clothed as the new Supergirl.

“I tried to stick to your designs,” Lena said as her daughter continued to gape. “With a few touches, here and there.”

El could only stare and confirm. How many sketch books had she filled in the last few months going over this? Obsessing, let’s be honest? It was her first suit, after all. Why not make it her own? That’s not to say it didn’t resemble Jeju’s old suits, in the crest at least and some of the shoulder work. The rest, though, was all, and obviously, El.

The color scheme more than anything. The young, would-be hero had decided on something a little more her palette. Dark colors, blacks mostly, with gray trim and side paneling, and a silver cape. Jeju, she knew, was not crazy about it, the blonde woman very probably harboring a personal fantasy of her daughter dressed a little bit more like her, but she had agreed the pants were a must, and the woman still stared in awe, wonder, and appreciation.

“What do you think?” Lena asked softly at last.

“I love it,” was El’s immediate reply. She sniffled, just a little. “I love it so much.” She looked down herself then back to her parents. “How do I look?” she had to ask.

In response, the both of them only stared back, exchanging a brief glance between them to confirm. “Amazing, little one,” Kara said.

El beamed. It felt good. It felt like she thought it would. It felt like the doorway to so many things. 

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“Well, that’s only part one,” Lena said.

“There’s a second part?” El exclaimed.

Kara nodded and stood and removed her own glasses. The red and blue sprang to life, inching across her form in a flood of color just like for the girl. Soon, Superwoman stood in the room. El gawked at the realization.

“Are you…?” She started. “Are you serious?” She glanced quickly at Mom.

Lena nodded. “You’ve followed the rules, and you’ve been training very hard.” She nodded to Kara. “We both thought you deserved it.”

El was practically hopping by now. Scratch that, she was hovering. “Can we go now?” She nearly screamed.

Kara nodded. “A quick jaunt around the city with your Jeju? What do you say?”

“Let’s go!” Is what the young woman said.

Kara led her to the balcony. El was ready to leap off but stopped suddenly. She turned back to the dark-haired woman now standing watching her two favorite people.

“Is it okay?” She asked.

Lena nodded. “20 minutes,” she said. “When you get back, I’ll have dessert ready.”

El smiled and turned to the balcony. She turned quickly back and hugged Lena. “I love you, Mom,” she said.

“I love you, too, Ellie baby,” Lena replied. She let the girl go after a moment, and, with a quick peck to her wife’s lips, she watched them step out the door.

El looked up at the night sky. Jeju laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Ready?” Kara asked.

El nodded. The blonde woman pointed out towards the city skyline.

“After you.”

El grinned. She checked down towards the street out of habit, but then her eyes were only on the stars. “Up, up, and away,” she whispered before she leapt. With a scream of delight, she was off into the sky, Kara right behind her.

Effortless, just like her Jeju had always described. El climbed and spun. Supergirl soared. The city hummed beneath her, a million people living and breathing, a million souls she could help. This was her time. This was her day.

And, like the glittering lights below, it was all spread out before her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cousin time! Sorry for the short-ish chapter, buy, yay, for updating!  
> Worry not, superheroing is on it's way, soon.

"So, you're really doing the superhero thing," Astrid commented.

It had been a full day for the cousins, starting basically from dawn. It had been many months since the pair had seen each other, and, as per their usual habit, they were squeezing every second they could out of their limited time together, resulting in a whirlwind trip around the city, (it might not have taken as much time, of course, but Astrid absolutely refused El's very generous offer to fly the both of them around), stopping only for a brief, but very much welcome respite of froyo.

El stabbed her spoon rather a little more energetically than she meant to. A gummi bear didn't make it. "Yes," she replied matter-of-factly, though with a half-annoyed edge. "I'm starting to wonder why people keep asking me that."

Astrid could only shrug. "I realize, in our family, we have a high tolerance for the..." She laughed, "'Extranormal', but you gottat admit: it's kind of a big deal."

"It's not that big of a deal."

"El," Astrid cut her off with a knowing look. "It's a big deal."

El tried to look away, but her cousin had picked up quite a few tricks from her mothers, both of them being masters of _the glare_.

"Okay," El finally admitted. "It's kind of a big deal." She swirled her yogurt around, in thought. "Could we at least agree it's a good big deal?"

Astrid smiled and lightly tapped her knuckles on El's shoulder. "You know it, girl," she said. "I'm only pissed I can't tell people. Do you know how cool I would look at West Point if I knew a superhero?"

"I mean, you could still know one," El pointed out. "A flyby could also be arranged."

Her cousin raised a wary eyebrow. "You sure your moms would be cool with that?" Before El could retort, the curly-haired cadet wisely added, "Or my Mom?"

"Oh, right," El groaned. _Responsibility, 'tis a bitch._ "Still," she went on. "If you want to name drop, I would not be against it. Photographic evidence could also be provided."

Astrid looked like she was considering this. "Nah," she finally said. "I already told everybody about my genius, billionaire heiress cousin, her magazine editor and billionaire moms, and, of course, my ex-Army veteran Mama. Bragging about my super friend? They wouldn't buy it."

"Don't forget your kick-ass Mom."

"Oh, I haven't told them about Mom," Astrid replied.

"You haven't?" El said worriedly. "Why not?"

"I don't want to scare them," Astrid laughed.

"Good point."

"I figure I got it in my back pocket if any upperclassmen decide to give me grief."

"Nice."

They dug further into their froyo.

"So," Astrid couldn't help but pipe in a minute later. "You're really doing it."

El nodded.

"It's just... I mean, come on, El," Astrid pointed out. "How long have you talked about this?"

El nodded more deeply, eyes drifting down to the table. Many, many nights she recalled, her and Astrid, in sleepovers, in quiet moments, planning their futures, crafting dreams in the shadows of their absolutely fantastic mothers. All the hopefulness of youth, aged, grown tired, but never forgotten.

"For a while there, it didn't seem like it was gonna happen," her cousin continued. "And now... I'm happy for you, you know that." She tapped El thoughtfully on the shoulder. "Right?"

El looked up, smiled, and nodded. Astrid was not her sister, but, even if either of them had one, they knew no one could be closer. Her mothers had, at the time, thought the curly-haired young woman's decision to go to West Point was sudden, unexpected. El knew better. Before she had ever spoken it aloud, Astrid had told her. They had told each other every dream, all the things they would do when they were "grown up", and here they were: ready to watch their dreams come true.

"I just, you know," the young woman stammered for a second, looking of the words. She finally looked out the window. "I guess this is your West Point, huh?"

"I guess it is," El replied with a nod.

"I like it, you know, but it's not all it's cracked up to be," Astrid said. "I just, I don't know." She sighed. "I want this to be everything you want it to be. I just... You know."

"I do," El said and sighed herself. "I know it's not gonna be all that I want, but I still want it."

Her cousin nodded. El glanced back at her.

"West Point has made you so wise," the dark-haired girl said with a smirk.

"Yep," Astrid agreed, lounging back in her chair. "You do a lot of living in the Army." She laughed. "It's been a pretty full year for the both of us."

El's head waffled back and forth at that. "Well, if we're comparing." She pointed her spoon at Astrid. "Made it through her first year of Academy with top marks."

Astrid nodded self-assuredly. El turned the spoon to herself.

"Fought an alien, death machine."

Astrid's face soured immediately. "That- that's not fair."

El motioned with the spoon for effect. "Fist fight. With a Kryptonian cyborg." She waved the spoon at her cousin. "And won, I might add."

"Yeah?" Astrid retorted. She looked for a better rejoinder and finally settled on the old standby. "I'm still older."

"You would hold that over my head."

"And I will continue to do so for the rest of our lives."

They laughed.

"You know," El said after taking another bite of gummi bear goodness. "I am taking applications for sidekicks."

Somehow, despite super senses and reaction time, the girl did not dodge a chocolate chip launched at her face. El looked a bit dumbfounded.

"What was that for?" she asked.

Astrid pointed a serious finger. "That's for using the S-word."

"Sorry," El replied, hands up in apology. "Partner."

"That's better."

"We're still on for the master plan, right?" El asked. "You graduate West Point, become a bad-ass soldier, get an assignment at the DEO, and we become a dynamic, world-saving, super team, a la your Mom and my Jeju?"

Astrid nodded as she pulled a last bite of yogurt off her spoon. "That's the plan."

They high-fived and finished up their yogurts.

"So, shopping?" Astrid asked.

"Shopping," El confirmed.

They stepped out of the yogurt shop into a bright, clear day. El greeted the sun with a smile.

"Could not ask for better weather," she said with a sigh.

"No," Astrid quickly replied, knowingly.

"I'm just saying," El added, as if she didn't know. "It's a gorgeous day."

"El, we are not flying."

"But it's perfect!" the girl couldn't help but shout.

"I do not care," said Astrid. "I've done that once. We're not doing it again."

"But I'm so much better at it, now."

"No, El."

"Oh, come on. I've been waiting to jet out for months, and you're gonna make me walk?" El groaned. She stared up at the clear blue above them as they strode down the street. "What if I meet you there?'

"You're gonna abandon me on our special, cousin day?!"

"Well, I offered you a ticket to the skies, but Ms. Gravity decided she'd rather be earthbound," El complained. "Haven't you done aerial training?"

"We had parachutes, El."

"Oh, so, if I get you a parachute-"

"No."

"What if I borrow Brainy's levitation ring?"

"No."

"You are no fun, at all," El groaned.

Astrid responded by punching her in the shoulder.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day. El learns superheroing isn't all it's cracked up to be, but you know the Supergirl's not going to let that stop her.

The wind caught El's hair, whipping it around and across her face. She didn't bother pushing it aside. She didn't really care to. She closed her eyes and let the air swirl around her. This high up, the wind was fierce and bitter cold, but all the young woman could feel was the sun on her face. She spread her arms and felt the cross-currents pull at her cape. Despite the roar of high atmosphere, up here it was quiet. The world lay far below. It was just her and the sky.

"Enjoying yourself?" A voice cut into her reverie, chirping into her ear through the comms unit.

"You have no idea," El replied with a smile broad across her face.

"You know," her aunt replied sympathetically. "If you wanted to just fly around, stretch your legs, so to speak, that'd be fine. No one's expecting you to jump right in, kiddo."

"No, no, no," El quickly replied, righting herself as she hovered. She opened her eyes and gazed down at the distant, urban sprawl beneath her. "I'm here to do a job."

"It's your summer, El," Alex said. "It's okay to have fun."

"Are you kidding?" El laughed. "I'm about to have a blast."

"All right," the DEO director stated solidly. "Then let's get started."

"Are you sure you're okay with this?" the young woman had to ask. "I know you got stuff to do."

"Kiddo, I cleared my whole day," and El could hear the smile. "It's just you and me."

El's smile widened. "What's up first?"

"Got a good one for you," Alex said. "Classic superheroing."

El brightened with excitement. "Bank robbery? Car chase?"

"Even better."

"I hate you so much right now," El grumbled as she hovered down towards the residential street.

"It's classic," Alex chimed in her ear.

"A cat stuck in a tree?" El snapped back harshly.

"Hey, your Jeju does stuff like this all the time," her aunt chided. "The small jobs are some of the most important, especially starting out. It builds public trust."

"Fine," El whined.

She approached the corner of a suburban park where a large oak tree provided shade over a section of grass. El spied a little girl, dressed in bright pink overalls, standing at the base, an older boy standing next to her. The girl pointed hurriedly up into the branches. El floated down, landing softly on the grass behind them.

"What seems to be the problem here?" El asked.

The kids turned curiously. The little girl's eyes went wide. The boy only squinted.

"Who are you?" he asked.

El smiled. Finally. She struck her best pose, fists at her waist. "Why, I'm Supergirl," she said.

"No, you're not," the boy retorted.

A comment from a child should not have floored her that badly, but El still found herself reeling.

"Uh, yes, I am," she replied with another smile.

"No, you're not," the boy repeated. He pointed. "Supergirl wears red, white, and blue."

"Actually," Supergirl replied. "Superwoman wears red, blue, and gold. I'm Supergirl. This is what I wear." She swept a hand down the suit, hoping to impress.

She did not.

"You don't look like Supergirl," the boy sneered.

"Well, what is Supergirl supposed to look like?" El asked indignantly.

She heard Alex clear her voice. _Right, focus._ Supergirl turned to the little girl. She leaned down towards her.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

The girl, pigtails and barrettes, pointed a worried finger towards the tree. "Archibald's stuck up there!"

"Well, maybe I can help him down," El offered with a glance to the oak. "How about that?"

The boy did not look like he had much confidence in this, but the girl's eyes pleaded. El smiled reassuringly and stepped to the trunk. With a sly glance over her shoulder, she picked up her feet and floated into the tree.

"See?" she heard the girl exclaim. "She is Supergirl."

The boy huffed in a most unimpressed way.

"Having fun arguing with a pre-teen?" Alex commented.

"He just caught me off-guard," El replied annoyedly as she scanned through the thick branches. _Here, kitty kitty_ , she was tempted to call, but the interaction with little Mr. I've-seen-everything had her rattled. It was a no brainer job, but she wanted to look like she knew what she was doing.

Only, Archibald was being less than cooperative. El looked all around, hovering higher, but she couldn't so much as spy a whisker. Finally, she had no choice.

She called down, "You're sure he's up here, right?"

The boy huffed again. The girl called up, "Yes! He's right there." She pointed wildly.

El tried to follow her indication but could only see brown and green.

"So, help me," she muttered under her breath. "If Archibald is imaginary."

Alex chuckled. "Hey, could be worse? Remember Fluffy?"

El rolled her eyes. "How could I forget?"

"Just be thankful you're not rescuing a snake."

"Yeah, yeah," El replied but was starting to wonder if she was going to rescue anything. She scanned back and forth. Seriously, how hard is it to find a...

Her eyes caught a bit of movement. El did a double take. Her eyes went wide, then they shut. She groaned. Of all the luck...

"Alex," she said finally. "It's a lizard."

"What?" the woman responded incredulously.

"Archibald," El repeated slowly, resignedly. "He's a lizard."

She opened her eyes to the pet in question, sitting on a branch less than a foot in front of her face, camouflaged exceptionally well against the shadows of the leaves. Archibald turned a spherical eye towards the young hero.

"Are you sure?" Alex asked.

"Either, Archie's a chameleon, or I have no idea what this girl is feeding her cat."

There was silence on the other end of the comm, or there should have been. What El heard was the sound of a woman trying very, very hard not to laugh her head off and failing totally.

"Don't you dare laugh," El said through gritted teeth.

Alex finally gave up trying to stop.

"It's my first day!" El replied. She sighed and reached out.

A moment later, Supergirl, ( _yes, for your information, she is Supergirl_ ), hovered out of the tree with a very confused chameleon clutching her forearm.

"Archibald!" the little girl exclaimed, her glowing smile some recompense for the embarrassment.

"Here you go," El replied, trying to keep her cool, and avoiding eye contact with the boy to do so. She glanced back at the tree. "How exactly did old Archie get all the way up there?"

"He likes to explore," the girl asserted matter-of-factly.

"Okay," El intoned. "Maybe invest in a leash."

The girl only clutched Archibald lovingly as she turned and skipped away. The boy shrugged and followed her. The girl turned around and waved.

"Thanks, whoever you are!" she exclaimed.

El was halfway to waving back when she caught the second half of her gratitude. "It's Supergirl!" she couldn't help but shout back, slapping the emblem on her chest with annoyance.

Alex was trying to get her breath back.

"Your next one better be real good," El spoke into her comm.

The next one turned out to be two ski mask-clad individuals trying to knock over a convenience store. El managed to disable them quite expertly, arriving on the scene with a smile and a "Hello", to which one of the robbers responded with a shotgun blast to the young hero's chest, to which she retorted, "Rude", before punching his lights out. In any other circumstance, the bread and butter of vigilantism. Only her grateful rescuees were less than impressed.

"Who are you?" the shop-owner asked.

"I'm Supergirl," El replied, striking the pose.

"You don't look like Supergirl," replied a disbelieving shopper.

_Come on. She was doing the pose. It was_ **_the pose_ ** _, for goodness sakes. And could people not see the "S"?_

"Well," El stammered. "I am." She was not even impressed with her own retort, at this point.

"Are you sure?" said another shopper.

_These people were staring down the barrel of a gun a second ago, where did they get off...?_

El breathed. "Yes," she replied.

"Do something Supergirl would do then?" the first shopper asked.

In response, El could only gape, before pointing to the unconscious men on the ground.

"You were the one who wanted to go with black," Alex commented as she flew away from the scene.

"It's supposed to help people take me seriously," El replied.

"How's that working out for you?"

Three muggings, a stalled car, and a small fire later, Supergirl was starting to wonder if she needed a name-tag.

"Seriously, what is people's problem?" she asked.

"You're just starting out," Alex replied empathetically. "Don't you think your Jeju faced stuff like this? I mean, people were crazy about Superman. A female version? No one was on board."

"But that's my point," El replied. "They have Superwoman. Who's going to say 'no' to extra help?"

"People don't like change, kiddo."

And El knew she was right. In the back of her mind, she had really kind of expected this. It made sense. A new Supergirl? How could the public approach that with anything but suspicion? Still, she had hoped. She wasn't doing this for the praise, of course, but couldn't she find one person halfway grateful?

She swooped over the city, giving the streets a glance as she flew by. That, at least, was a relief. Flying. She understood more and more why Kara loved it. As she sailed past a park, El's eyes caught a figure down below.

"Give me a minute," came Alex. "I might have a couple of things for you."

"Hold on," El replied. "I think I have a live one."

The young Super turned and swooped gently down towards the park. She neared a figure, dressed in a muumuu, with a walker, making her way slowly over a paved path through the grass. Every few steps, the elderly lady would stop and gaze around worriedly. El landed a few paces away and walked towards her.

"Hi, can I help you?" the teen asked as warmly as she could.

The old woman turned coke bottle lenses towards the young hero and squinted. She glanced down at El's chest. Then she smiled.

"Supergirl!" she said looking back up at her.

"That's right," El replied, unable to stop the flutter in her chest.

"Thank goodness," the woman said. She waved to the park around her. "I got all turned around and can't seem to find my way back to the home. You know at my age, you have to worry about these things." She turned back to the girl. "Think you could help me?"

El beamed. Finally. Classic superheroism. "I think I can. What's your name, ma'am?"

"Gladys Harpinger."

"It's nice to meet you, Ms. Harpinger. Where do you live?"

The woman's wrinkled brow wrinkled further. She shook her head a moment later. "You know, if you hadn't asked me."

"Okay," said El with some worry. She scanned the buildings bordering the park and found nothing resembling an assisted living facility. Apparently, Ms. Harpinger had gone quite afield. "Um..."

She looked back at the lady, still smiling. El glanced down. Her eyes caught a plastic lanyard hanging from one of the handles of the walker. "May I?" she asked before she grabbed it and breathed a sigh of relief as she spied the words: "If found, please return to Shady Pines..." It had the apartment number and everything.

"Well, it looks like you're at Shady Pines," El said.

"Oh, that's right," said Ms. Harpinger. "Good, ole Shady Pines. Food's lousy, but if you like gossip, we got it running hot and cold."

El laughed. She heard a voice buzz in her ear.

"North, about 5 blocks," Alex said.

"I think I know the way," El added and motioned in the right direction. "You mind if I walk with you?"

"I'd like that," the woman beamed.

Supergirl walked with the retiree as they made their way back to Shady Pines, Alex in one ear giving directions, Ms. Harpinger in her other, filling the young woman in on the entire life stories of literally everyone in the assisted living facility before coming to her own, rather exciting chronicle. As the woman did not walk very fast, El got a lot of information.

Apparently, Ms. Harpinger was 92 and in her rich life had done everything from be a pilot to participate in the Stonewall Riots. Everything except get married, as she was quick to inform the young woman that "I was not about to let someone tie me down." El couldn't help but wonder at her luck. Of all the lost, little, old ladies she could run into. Thus the teen was not a little disappointed when, some time later, they finally found themselves at the door of Shady Pines, their walk over.

"Well, here's me," said Ms. Harpinger. "Thanks for letting me talk your ear off, Supergirl. I know you probably have a lot of other important things you could be doing."

"None more important than this, Ms. Harpinger. I promise." And El found the answer was most truthful.

The woman leaned towards her. "You know. I like the suit," she whispered.

"Really?" El asked.

"Yeah, dark colors make you look serious."

"Thanks," the teen said, running a hand over the fabric. "That's actually what I was going for."

"But I don't know why you changed your hair," Ms. Harpinger added.

"My hair?" the teen asked, confused.

"Yes, dear," the old woman said. "Blonde was so you."

And El's mouth dropped open slightly as it occurred to her that Ms. Harpinger may have been thinking she had been walking with a different Supergirl this whole time.

"Oh," she said quietly, a little cut off at the knees. But, really, could you blame the old woman? "I guess I just wanted a change."

"I know what you mean," said Ms. Harpinger, very much unperturbed. "In the 80's, I went pink!" And she began shuffling towards the door of Shady Pines.

El watched her go with a sad sort of sigh. It seemed a rather apt crescendo for her day. The woman stopped just as she was about to step inside. She turned around with a big smile.

"You know," she said. "I remember when you first started. I saw you on TV, and I said to myself, 'Now, there's someone I'd trust to walk me home.' Glad to see I was right." And with a final wave, the old woman shuffled inside the facility.

As El watched the doors close behind her, she wiped a tear off her cheek before turning and floating back towards the sky.

"You okay?" she heard Alex's voice in her ear.

"Yeah," the teen replied. "She thought I was Jeju."

"I know," said her Aunt soothingly. "I'm sorry, kiddo."

"No," El quickly replied. "Don't be." She turned to stare back down at the building, thinking of the little, old lady inside, no doubt regaling her friends about meeting the real Supergirl. The young woman smiled small-ly. "I'm not."

Kara's day, meanwhile, was decidedly less super, though, unexpectedly, a little more enjoyable. The woman had actually a tough go at it, at first. She'd long since developed the habit of keeping her super senses tuned to various noises around the city, sirens, babies crying, police band radio, so there were multiple moments throughout the day where she had to stop herself, halfway to some ready-made excuse, before she dropped her glasses and leapt out the nearest window in pursuit of some minor crisis, but, of course, that was being handled by someone else today, and, as much as she might want to, she knew it was best to let El learn for herself.

All in all, it was a little like a vacation. Kara was able to focus more on her actual job than maybe she ever had before, which may not have been a good thing, especially for her receptionist, who might take Ms. Danvers' newfound attentiveness as some kind of passive-aggressive attempt at micromanagement. Still, it was a terribly quiet day, and Kara was starting to wonder, with El out there now sharing the load, if more of her days might look like this.

When she got home that evening, the blonde woman actually came in the front door, something of a rarity, but something that just felt right for the day. She found her wife busy cooking and greeted her with a kiss on the back of her neck.

"Hi," Lena moaned as she turned and planted a real kiss on her wife's lips. "How was your day?"

"Good," Kara replied, tracing her hands around the dark-haired woman's waist. "Turns out I have a day job."

"Really?" Lena asked with a laugh.

"Yeah. No one was more surprised than me." Kara peppered another kiss on the woman's lips. "How was your day?"

"Not too bad," said Lena. "I actually do my job everyday, though."

"That's right," Kara said with faux surprise. "I wondered how we can afford all this stuff." She laughed and gave her wife a squeeze. "How about El?"

Lena's face dropped slightly. She pointed towards the living room. Kara followed her gaze to see their daughter lying fully facedown on the couch.

"That bad, huh?" Kara asked.

Lena nodded.

"Have you talked to her?

"A little," said Lena. "But this seems like a job of Superwoman."

Kara had to nod at that. Lena pecked her cheek before turning back to the stove. Kara gave her a cursory squeeze before trodding over to the living room, where she plopped onto the couch beside her daughter. A deep moan vibrated through the sofa, then the girl clawed her way forward to rest her face on her Jeju's lap.

"How's it going, little one?" Kara asked.

"Superheroing's hard," the girl groaned into Kara's legs.

Jeju ran a hand over El's hair. "Yeah, I know."

"Was it this hard for you?"

"Pretty sure it was," Kara said.

El sighed. "You'd think people would be cool having a second Super around."

"You'd think," Kara agreed. "But people are hard to win over."

El nodded into her lap.

"Was it all bad?" Kara asked after a moment.

El sighed again and slowly rolled over to look up at her Jeju. She shrugged. "I guess not," she said. "I met the nicest old lady."

"Ah, old ladies are the best," said Kara with a smile.

"She thought I was you."

Kara huffed dryly to herself and brushed an errant lock off the young woman's face. "You know," she said. "I think you might have it harder than me."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well," Kara said with a waggle of her head. "Everyone compared me to Superman when I first started, but Kal was all the way in Metropolis." She looked down at her daughter. "You have me right here. It's gonna be real hard for people not to compare you to me."

El thought she could agree with that. She sighed. "I just want to know I'm doing a good job."

Jeju had to smile. "It was your first day," she said before kissing her daughter on the forehead. "I'm sure you did."

"If I hadn't," El said. "Alex would have called you."

"Maybe," Kara replied. "I do have some good news, though."

Kara pulled out her phone, opened an app, and flicked her finger across the screen. The TV suddenly lit up. El turned to see a picture of herself. It was a shot of Supergirl, black and silver, lifting a mugger by his collar six feet off the ground.

"And now to our biggest story of the day," a voiceover started as the picture turned into a slideshow, all shots of El in her suit. "National City can add another superhero to its roster, and this one goes by, you won't believe it folks, Supergirl."

El's eyes went wide. She sat up on the couch and gaped. "I made SuperWatch?!?"

"Yep," Kara replied.

"Sporting a noticeably darker suit," the voiceover continued. "The new hero was spotted all over the city, stopping minor crimes, helping citizens, and even rescuing some exotic pets. Opinions are mixed on the black-clad do-gooder, but, one thing's for sure, the number 1 source for all your news on our new Supergirl will be CatCo Media."

The brand logo flashed on the screen before the video stopped. El's head snapped to Jeju's.

"The whole building was talking about it," Kara said with a smile.

"And?" El asked, knowingly.

Kara laughed and threw an arm around her daughter. "Well, a reliable source close to Superwoman told CatCo Media the new Supergirl was not only 100% legit but would be willing to be interviewed," she said. "Under certain conditions, of course."

"We're on?" El exclaimed.

Kara held up two fingers. "In 2 days. If you're ready."

"Yes!" the girl replied. "Mom, did you hear?"

"I did," Lena said as she approached the couch. "I'm proud of you, sweetie."

El shook with excitement. She grabbed her Jeju's phone and turned to the TV. "Come on," she said. "Let's watch it again."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Supergirl has her first interview with CatCo Magazine, but it wouldn't be complete without a special appearance.  
> Cameo time!

El drifted down towards CatCo, alighting finally on the balcony outside the top floor. She breathed. It was strange. She had entered this building a thousand times. Along with L-Corp HQ, it was practically a second home. She knew almost everyone by first name, and they her. But this was different. For one, she had never entered the building by air, and no one knew her, not this version, at least. Today, she would introduce the world to Supergirl.

The young hero calmly stepped inside, opening the glass door and waltzing in as if it were a totally normal way to enter a building. There were already reporters waiting, CatCo photographers and social media writers, snapping photographs instantly. A very familiar figure stepped through the press horseshoed around her.

"Supergirl!" Kara Danvers said smiling as she extended her hand. "Thanks so much for coming."

El tried not to smirk as she extended her own hand and shook the blonde woman's. "Ms. Danvers," she replied. "The pleasure's all mine."

Kara glanced around the young woman. "Are we expecting company?"

"Yes, actually," El replied, turning back to the door. "One sec."

A moment later, the red-and-blue clad form of Superwoman landed on the balcony. She stepped into the floor and the cameras really went off. Gosh, she could pull off the pose.

"Superwoman," Ms. Danvers said as she stepped towards the hero.

"Kara!" Jeju said and brought the blonde in for a hug. "I see you've been getting acquainted," she said when they parted, motioning to Supergirl.

"That we have," Ms. Danvers replied. "Thanks again for this."

"Always a pleasure," Superwoman said. "We ready to go?"

"Yes," Kara replied. She motioned for them to follow. Cameras and phones continued to go off. The blonde paused, turning to the crowd. "Those are all for the CatCo app, right?" she asked.

Several interns and not a few seasoned reporters cleared their throats and replied in the affirmative, like they had not just been taking selfies to post on their own social media.

"I thought we'd use my office," Kara added, motioning towards the glass-encased corner suite filled now with lighting equipment, backdrops, and cameras. "If that's all right."

"Of course," Jeju said and laid a hand on El's back to lead her in.

They stepped inside the office. Kara shooed the last of the interns away. As the door shut, she turned to see El staring at her.

"J'onn?" the girl asked.

Kara, or what certainly looked like her, smiled. "M'gann, actually."

"Oh," El said before hugging the Martian. She turned for a moment and stared between the two blondes, between Kara Danvers and Superwoman. "I'm sorry, that's just never not weird."

"That's again for doing this, M'gann," Jeju commented.

"It's a pleasure, really," M'gann responded with a pat on El's shoulder. "Especially for our little hero's premier." She motioned them towards two stools under the lights across from another that had replaced the couches that usually occupied the space. "I've got all the talking points we discussed. Should be just like we practiced."

El nodded and stepped towards her spot. There was a knock on the door. When the trio turned, it was to see a very worried young woman on the other side.

Chloe gingerly pushed open the door. "Uh, Ms. Danvers, I have your coffee here," the assistant said, hanging over a Noonan's cup. She looked star-struck over at the two caped individuals. "Can I get you anything? Coffee, tea, cocoa?"

El looked at Jeju and tried not to laugh. "Cocoa sounds great. Ms. Danvers says you make a mean one."

Chloe practically collapsed under the weight of the compliment. "Oh, thank you," she practically screamed.

"I'll have the same," Superwoman added, and you would have thought Ms. Danvers' personal assistant had been handed a Nobel Prize in drink making.

"Yes, I'll, uh... I'll go get that..." the young woman stammered as she stepped backwards out of the office, nearly letting the door hit her in the face.

M’gann-turned-Kara chuckled as she sipped the coffee. She winced. "Gosh, Kara, and I thought J'onn took his coffee sweet."

"Sorry," Superwoman replied. "That's my normal order, and I have to be consistent with Chloe. It's a... thing."

"After spending the morning with her," said M'gann. "I can tell."

"Just be nice," Jeju added.

"I'm you," said M'gann with a smile. "It's hard not to be."

They settled down into their seats. A minute later, a tech came in to adjust the lighting and the camera angles. Superwoman and Supergirl were fitted with mics. Kara nodded as the tech stepped out.

"Ready?" the blonde asked.

Jeju and El both nodded. Kara motioned to start, or was about to, when a commotion caught their attention. Something was going on outside the office. They spied reporters suddenly darting around and a general, excited and nervous, murmur. Kara slid off her stool and opened the office door. She spied Chloe standing by her desk, two drinks in her hands and a fairly nervous look about her.

"Chloe?" Kara asked, and the assistant spun to her shakily. She stepped around the desk. Her mouth opened for a moment. Kara finally took the drinks away before they shook right out of the young woman's hand. "Chloe?" she repeated.

"Ms. Danvers," the assistant replied, finally finding her voice. "There's a bit of a situation."

"What sort of situa-" Kara was halfway to when the doors to the elevator, the private elevator for the editor-in-chief, opened, and the entire floor froze as a figure strode out very much like she owned the place.

It had been some time. Her hair had gone white. The laugh lines had deepened. But there was no mistaking the stylishly dressed woman behind the oversized sunglasses, bag strap perched in the crease of her elbow, heels clicking with authority across the floor. There were people working in the building who hadn’t been hired when she still ran the place, but they, as much as those who had been here for years, knew exactly who they were dealing with. Cat Grant.

"Ms... Ms. Grant," Kara stammered as she neared.

"Kara," the older woman replied with a self-satisfied smile and a quick glance over the blonde's shoulder. "I see you've made yourself at home in my office. Can't say I'm crazy about the decor, but it's yours. That's what matters."

Kara, read M'gann, looked confused for a moment, glancing back at the Supers for support, but they were just as surprised. Cat, however, seemed unperturbed, turning quickly to the shaking, cowering young woman next to her. She cast a wary eye up and down.

"Chloe, was it?" she asked.

Chloe nodded. Ms. Grant glanced at the desk behind her.

"You're her assistant?" she intoned and pointed at Kara.

Chloe nodded. "Yes, Ms. Grant," she added out loud, picking up that she should.

"You've got some big shoes to fill. I hope you know that," Cat said, to Chloe's horror. "Stand up, dear," the older woman chided. "You're here to do a job, not help a mad scientist raise the dead."

Chloe's spine went rod-straight. With a smooth motion Cat dropped her bag in the young woman's arms, pulling out a small folio from inside.

"Tall, half-caff macchiato, extra whip, 2 shots of vanilla," the woman snapped out like a drill sergeant. "Thank you can manage that?"

"Yes-" Chloe squeaked, then stopped. She collected herself and much more forcefully answered, "Yes, Ms. Grant!" before bustling off faster than anyone had ever seen her move.

"I think you'll find her less of an issue from now on," Ms. Grant commented to Kara before brushing right past into the office/studio.

"Ms. Grant," Jeju said, then seemed to catch the knee-jerk reaction from herself. "Cat," she added. "It's good to see you."

"You as well, Superwoman," Cat said with a genuine smile. She whipped off the sunglasses as she stared at the hero. "My god, what I wouldn't give for that skin tone."

"Uh, not that it isn't great to see you, Cat," Superwoman replied. "This is just a little surprising."

"Is it?" the woman asked. "I introduced the world to the first Supergirl. Seems only fitting I introduce the world to the new one." And with that, she finally turned to El, who could only stare. The woman gave her the once-over and let out a slight _hmm_ before taking the stool previously reserved for Ms. Danvers.

M'gann-playing-Kara looked at Jeju questioningly. Superwoman only nodded that it was okay. Ms. Danvers stepped to her former boss.

"If you'd like, we have the basic talking points here," she said, motioning to a stack of notecards on a side table.

"No need, Kiera," Cat replied, pulling out a finely printed set of her own from her folio. "I brought my own."

Superwoman nodded to "Kara" that this was okay. They took their seats. A few minutes later, a slightly more confident-looking Chloe stepped inside and presented Ms. Grant her drink. The woman took it without comment, and the assistant bustled off to her desk.

The lights were set, the cameras came on, and Cat motioned to Kara to begin. Kara turned to the camera.

"Hello, World, this is Kara Danvers, editor-in-chief of CatCo Magazine. As promised, we have for you today a SuperWatch exclusive: the first interview with the new Supergirl. I had intended to do this myself, but... Well, we have a special guest, and I think I'll let her take it from here." She turned and nodded to the white-haired woman. "Ms. Grant."

Cat nodded back, looked down at her notes, then looked up fluidly to the camera. "Hello, National City, and everyone else watching. Some 30 years ago, I had the supreme pleasure to introduce our city, and our planet, to a new superhero, one who had the potential to change the very way we view not only heroes but ourselves. I've been proud to watch her grow over the years and even prouder that she is here to acquaint us all with a new hero." She turned to Jeju. "Superwoman, always a pleasure."

"You as well, Ms. Grant," Kara replied.

"So, let's get the obvious question out of the way," Cat said, her tone and demeanor shifting immediately to that of the seasoned interviewer. She wasn't mean, but there was a honed seriousness to her. "Some months ago, Superwoman got in a rather intense fight with a being dubbed," the woman checked her notes, "'The Eradicator.'" She hummed disappointedly to herself. "I think I could have done better as far as titles," she commented before shifting back to Superwoman. "It was touch-and-go there for a moment, that is until an unidentified individual swooped in to assist her." She turned her head to El. "Were you that individual?"

El breathed. They were going to get to this, but it made sense to take care of it now. "Yes, Ms. Grant, I was."

"Any particular reason you chose that moment as your debut?"

El glanced at Kara, letting a smile play across her lips. They were going to work up to this, too, but it had always been a part of the plan for the interview. Leave it to Cat Grant to leap to the most important part right up front. She never did like clickbait. Jeju gave the girl a nearly imperceptible nod.

"Well," El replied. "I couldn't let my Mom get hurt."

The teen thought she could hear a million gasps go out across the internet. When she turned back forward, Ms. Grant only had a look of mild interest on her face, neither too surprised nor too unsurprised. Rao, she was good at this.

"Ah," the woman said. "You know, I think I see the resemblance." She shifted fluidly in Superwoman's direction. "You were holding out on me. To think I could have done a whole series on Supermom."

"We all have our personal lives, Ms. Grant," Jeju replied.

"That we do," Cat said before turning back to El. "So, Supergirl, big shoes to fill."

"Well, they're boots actually, but yes," the girl shot back and watched the tiniest smirk appear at the corner of Cat's mouth before disappearing.

"That cape casts a long shadow," the woman commented. "Nervous?"

"A little," said El honestly. "I know there are a lot of expectations on me, not just to be as good a hero as Superwoman but maybe even to be a better one. My mom has built a lot of trust with this city. I only hope that I can live up to that." The girl's head ducked momentarily. They hadn't practiced this part. "And that people will have grace for me when I don't. I'm learning."

At that, Cat Grant had an actual smile, one that looked genuine. El could see her Jeju beaming beside her as well.

"You seem a very well-spoken, young woman," Cat continued, shifting tone again. "However, I do feel the need to talk about this fashion disaster of a suit."

El's eyes popped up and locked with the woman's. She had been raised on stories of Cat Grant. They had even met a couple of times, always amiably. The woman was something more akin to a grandmother to the girl. But in that moment she finally understood what it must have been like when Jeju worked for the media mogul. There was a fight in her eyes, not aggression, but challenge. Something that said 'give it your best shot because I know you can.'

"Ms. Grant, that's hardly fair," the girl retorted. She leaned forward. "I mean, I could be wearing the skirt."

Jeju's eyebrows soared up to the stratosphere as her jaw dropped to the floor. Cat had a twinkle in her eye that said 'nicely done'. El smiled.

The rest of the interview went smoothly. There were softball questions about growing up with a super-parent that both El and Kara deflected nicely, answering just enough to tease but never going into personal detail. Cat, unsurprisingly, guided them expertly through all their talking points as if she had written them herself. At last, when they were nearing the end, the woman turned the conversation once again with her practiced precision.

"So, Superwoman, what would you say to someone who might point out that involving your daughter in superheroism is tantamount to child-endangerment?"

The question was a harpoon but not one delivered with any malice. They might, indeed they really could, have completely avoided such a controversial topic, but Cat steered straight into it. The woman knew, of course, exactly the kind of things people would say. She was prepared for them, and, in this moment, she was giving them both the opportunity to head them off at the pass.

"Well," Jeju said after a moment to collect herself. She looked at El. She put an arm around her. "The Eradicator fight was a one-time thing, something she chose to do in the heat of the moment because she thought she had to, but I was fully prepared, quite comfortable in fact, for her never stepping into this. However, we've had long talks, many, many talks about her pursuing this. She's at the age now where she can seriously make choices for herself, and she has chosen this. I don't want her to get hurt, of course, but I love her enough to support her. I'm also really proud, and I can't wait for the world to see what she can do."

"I had a good example," El added.

"Indeed you did," Cat agreed. She checked her cards briefly. "One last question, Supergirl, what's your father's name?"

The question came fluidly and quickly, just like all the others, delivered with calculated precision. El's mouth hung open for a half-second. In the end, the inaccuracy of it caught her more off-guard that the audacity. The teen smiled. "Nice try, Ms. Grant."

"I wouldn't be me if I didn't make the attempt." And that smirk appeared again. Cat Grant shifted back to the camera. "Well, World, a mother-daughter superhero team. Now I really have seen everything. Only time will tell as to what this newest addition to the Super clan does with the very important responsibility she's shouldered. I, for one, can't wait to see what she has to show us. For CatCo Media, I am the one and only Cat Grant. Goodbye."

And they were out. The cameras shut off, the lights shut down, and Cat quickly gathered her things up. Superwoman slid off her stool.

"Ms. Grant," she said, then laughed to herself. "Cat, it really is an honor."

"The honor has been, and always will be, all mine, Superwoman," she said before shaking the hero's hand. She turned to Supergirl and shook hers as well, pulling her in before the young woman could pull away. "It took your mother years to learn the lesson I tried to teach her from day one," she whispered in El's ear. "You are only as strong as the people you lean on." The woman stepped back at met the girl's eyes. "Do you understand?"

"I think so, Ms. Grant," El replied, though she wasn't positive.

"Give it time," Cat added. She opened her sunglasses with a flick of her wrist, sliding them on her face. "I mean, you're a valedictorian, for god's sake. Shouldn't be too hard."

And with that, Cat Grant spun on her heels and strode out, once again to the awed silence of the entire floor. She grabbed her bag from Chloe, who looked like she might salute the woman, before stepping fluidly onto her elevator and making her exit much the same way she had entered.

El could only stare. She felt Jeju lay a hand on her shoulder, but the girl's eyes did not leave the elevator.

"What was it like working for her?" she had to ask.

"Little one," Jeju whispered. "I have no words to adequately describe it."

* * *

Superwoman got called into the DEO that evening. El attempted to see if there was anything she could help with and was assured they had it handled. So she headed home to find Mom sitting on the couch, watching TV.

"Hey, baby," Lena called. "Dinner's in the oven. Almost ready."

"Hi, Mom," El replied as she stepped into the living room. "What are you watching?"

Lena smiled and motioned to the screen where some very familiar individuals were sitting. "Some very riveting television."

El squealed, kicked off her shoes, and leapt over the back of the sofa to snuggle against her mother, and they watched the interview together.

"You are a natural, Ellie," Lena commented.

"I know, right?" the girl said. "It's all those elocution lessons you gave me."

"Clearly, they paid off," said Mom. "Cat certainly seems impressed."

El exhaled knowingly. "That is some woman."

"Tell me about it," Mom agreed. "I met her once, when I was about your age."

"Really?"

Lena nodded. "It was at some Luthor event, I don't even remember. We were introduced, and I'm not too proud to say the woman scared the begeezus out of me."

"Really, Mom?" El had to ask. "'Begeezus'?"

"I've been married to your Jeju too long," the dark-haired woman replied. "Anyway, after the fear wore off, I immediately began to admire her. She spoke with such self-determination. She shut men down who even thought to talk over her. She talked to me like my opinion mattered. No one had ever done that before. Plus, I could tell from the first moment that she absolutely hated Lillian, which just made her a saint in my book."

"I wondered where your kick-ass assertiveness came from."

"Oh, that's homegrown, sweetie," Lena said. "But if I had to name an inspiration, Cat would certainly be at the top of the list."

They watched the interview a bit more. Even El could agreed it had gone well. Whatever nervousness she had felt at the time didn't seem to translate to camera. Cat really was an expert interviewer. Points flowed smoothly. Follow-up questions were pointed and perfectly expanded on the salient information. It was kind of fun to watch. Especially with her and Jeju, both in their costumers, sitting there side-by-side. Still, El felt a twinge in her chest at the image and snuggled closer to Mom.

"What is it, baby?" Lena asked, sensing straight to the girl's heart.

El shrugged. "I was just thinking," she said. "I mean, I'm glad people know Supergirl is Superwoman's daughter. That just makes sense, but..." She sighed and looked at her Mom. "I wish they could know she's your daughter, too."

Lena stared for a long moment at her daughter, into her eyes, which were so the mirror of her own. She swiped a hand across her cheek, brushing her hair behind her ear.

"I know you're my daughter," she said and planted a kiss on the girl's forehead. "That's all that matters." She squeezed the girl tightly against her. "And, in case it needs to be said, I am immensely proud of you."

"I love you, Mom," El whispered.

"I love you, too, Ellie baby."

They shared a smile. El settled back into the cushions next to her Mom. She picked up the remote.

"Come on," she said with a broad grin. "Let's watch it again."


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new Supergirl is just waiting for a chance to prove herself. Will this be it or will it be an accident waiting to happen?

"So, how's the superhero game treating you?" Astrid asked.

El fixed her with a blank stare. It was a normal sort of question. It was also a loaded sort of question, especially coming out of the mouth of her curly-haired cousin. The cadet's face did not belie it, but El could read the knowing smirk just waiting to pop up.

"So, your mom told you about Archibald?"

Astrid chuckled, once. It burst between her lips before the young woman buttoned them right back up.

"Oh, just do it," El demanded, and Astrid burst into laughter in earnest.

"I mean, come on!" she exclaimed when she had enough breath to. "Come on! What are the chances?"

El could only shake her head. Seeing the genuine sense of disappointment buried under there, with her superior cousin senses, Astrid looped an arm around her shoulders.

"Hey," she said, waiting for El to make eye contact. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," El replied, slightly unconvinced.

"Come on," Astrid gently chided her with a bump of her hips as they strolled down the sidewalk. 

It had been another day of cousin bonding, which mostly involved yogurt and junk food and binge-watching television on El's couch. Nothing too extravagant, but it was the last day before Astrid had to go back for summer training, so they were prioritizing the quality time. Now, they were walking back to Alex and Kelly's house, taking their time as the afternoon waned into evening. 

"You didn't think it would be a free ride, did you?"

El shook her head. No, she hadn't, not really. Despite her Kara DNA, which not only granted her superpowers but also a die-hard optimism, she was also her Mom's daughter, just too much a realist to fully dive in to altruism. Roots, wings, the gifts of both her mothers. But, still, she had hoped.

El shrugged. "I guess I was just hoping..." She shrugged again. "I don't know."

"That people wouldn't be people?" Astrid asked, also the product of two women who knew the up and downs of life intimately.

"That I had actually learned something out of all this training," El replied. "I mean Jeju had nothing when she first started out, and she managed."

"For like a week," Astrid commented. "Then my Mom lassoed her out of the sky and dragged her back to the DEO."

"Well-" El objected, then realized. "Yeah." Her shoulders slumped. "I mean, what was the point of all this..." She flung her arms out, trying to encompass the majority of the last year, since the whole Eradicator incident. "If it wasn't going to give me a leg up?"

Her cousin could only shrug in reply. "Preparedness counts, certainly, but there are some things you just can't teach. Trust me." She nodded her head back, seeming to indicate West Point as she did. "You didn't think I thought I'd be the BAMF BWOC when I first set foot in the Academy? I mean, you know my mothers."

El nodded her vigorous agreement.

"And granted," Astrid went on. "I put a lot of people in their place from day one, but there was still a ton I just wasn't prepared for." She squeezed El by the shoulders, reveling as the younger woman allowed her to pick her up off her feet, convincing herself El wasn't floating at all. "That's life."

El nodded. She understood. She had always understood, intellectually, but there were some things you just had to experience. She let out a sigh.

"Hey," Astrid comforted her. "You just need the opportunity, that's all. Trust me, when you get your chance, you're gonna show everybody what the new Supergirl is all about."

El let herself smile. She threw an arm around Astrid's middle and squeezed her back, actually lifting the cadet a full inch off her feet.

"Show off," her cousin replied when the half-Kryptonian had set her back down.

They strolled on, laughing over the day's adventures, taking their time, until, all too soon, they found themselves at the Danvers-Olson residence. They both let out a sigh in unison.

"Think we could do another lap?" El suggested, glancing up the block.

"Nah," Astrid answered. "Mama's got a special dinner planned. I don't want to keep them waiting."

"Oh, yeah, I can smell it from here," El answered with a short sniff of the air.

The young women turned and embraced each other, holding onto the moment as long as they could, but all good things must come to an end. They parted at last. Astrid motioned towards the door.

"You want to pop in?" she asked. "You know you're welcome."

"Thanks," El replied. "But I won't monopolize your time. Tell your moms I said, 'hi.'"

With that the cadet nodded, gave a little salute, and stepped towards the house.

"Hey, Astrid," El called after her as she mounted the steps. Her cousin turned. "Your first free weekend I'm flying up there."

Astrid smiled. "You know it." She smiled, turned, then turned quickly back. "But we're taking the train into the city. No buts."

El let herself look momentarily crushed before she smiled. "Deal."

With another wave, they at last parted. El watched Astrid step inside and allowed herself one last sigh at being parted from her best friend. Then, with a quick glance to either end of the street, El looked up at the sky and leapt.

* * *

So, superheroing wasn't all it was cracked up to be. El knew that. But it wasn't terrible. It was just a lot of not altogether fantastic stuff. Maybe it was the fact that she was just starting out, still trying to make a name for herself, despite the already familiar title, but Supergirl seemed to be bogged down in a lot of really easy tasks. No lizards in trees, thank Rao, but a lot of stranded motorists, the occasional small fire, and one beached whale. No, she was not kidding, and, thankfully, the poor thing did make it, but come on! She was a superhero and this was National City, top 3 in major metropolitan areas with high levels of extraordinary issues.

Then again, now that she did think about it, maybe there was another reason she was only getting the small jobs.

"You know, if you want, I could fly by the store and buy a set of training wheels," El commented into her radio after she left the scene of her 18th impeded mugging. Yes, she had been counting. "Just so we can make this official."

"Ha-ha," her aunt called back in monotone.

"Seriously, Alex," El grumbled. "You're killing me with these milk runs."

"It's called 'building goodwill.'"

"No, it's called 'aggravating your niece for no reason!'"

"Hey, this is the job, El," Alex said. "If it's not hurry-up-and-wait, it's putting-out-the-little fires."

"There are bigger fires, Alex."

"Not for you, kiddo."

That brought Supergirl to a stop mid-air. El stood upright suddenly, hovering over the city. Her mouth dropped open with the shock of realization before her brow furrowed in annoyance. She crossed her arms, sulking in the sky.

"Who asked you to do that?" she said.

"What do you mean?" replied the DEO Director, all ignorance, or so it seemed.

"Who asked you to keep me away from the big fires?" Supergirl asked.

"I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about," came the reply, and the cracks were showing.

"Who?" El repeated.

Alex was silent.

"If it had been Mom, she would have told me," El surmised. "And you would be sounding more scared, so it must have been Jeju."

There was a pause on the other end of the line. Finally, Alex replied with a sigh, "Kiddo-"

"I knew it!" El screamed.

"It wasn't just her," Alex answered.

El stopped, considered this, then she got really annoyed.

"Alex!"

"You're just starting out, El," her aunt quickly cut in. "I know you're eager, and that's great, but you're not going to help anyone, least of all yourself, by getting in over your head too quickly."

El ground her teeth, fully aware of the logic but too peeved to be able to admit the woman was right. "I can handle it," she replied back. "You trained me to handle it."

"El, you know this isn't about ability."

And that knocked El back. She groaned and did a slow backflip in the air.

"You're new at this," Alex said, softer. "There's nothing wrong with that, but if you throw yourself at all this too quickly, you're just as likely to crash and burn.”

El stamped her feet, an awkward move considered she didn't have any ground under her boots. "So, the plan is what? To hold me back until I want to quit?" she grumbled.

"The plan is to hold you back so you won't quit," Alex quickly corrected.

El stopped. Her shoulders slumped. It was a burden, sometimes, having so many supportive adults in her life. It wasn't, but she was still annoyed and wanted to stew, self-righteously, for a bit longer.

"El, I know you want to help people," her aunt spoke gently in her ear. "I love that about you, and I want to see you get as good as your Jeju, maybe even better, but..." And the woman let the ending hang.

El dutifully picked it up. "But things take time."

"That's right," said Alex. "You'll get there, kiddo. I know you will. I'm going to make sure of it, but, for now, let's just stick to the, shall we say, more mundane problems?"

El puffed out her cheeks and let out a long breath. "Fine," she finally said, and the annoyance was there, but there was gratitude behind it. "Can they at least be interesting mundane problems?"

Alex huffed a laugh. "I have no control over that."

Nevertheless, there was a pause. The woman laughed shortly again.

"Now that you mention it, though."

El crossed her fingers.

"You want something interesting?" Alex asked. "Armored car robbery. Downtown.”

"YES!" El cheered and punched the sky. "Now, we're talking!" And with a final twirl, Supergirl turned and jetted down towards the city.

* * *

El could hear the commotion from a mile away, screams and crunching metal. She sped up and turned around a building to spy the crime scene. An armored car, making its way through mid-day, downtown traffic had been rammed by a refitted box truck, throwing the armored car into a line of other vehicles. People were scattering in all directions. For a moment, Supergirl wondered if she would be able to find the perpetrators in all this chaos. Then she figured they were probably the guys in the ski masks.

Goon number 1 was running from the truck, toting a bag of money in one hand and a machine pistol in the other. He chucked the bag in the back of the box truck and turned to grab another load, his buddies making a quick pile of the loot in the street. He turned, then heard a sound. When he turned again, it was to a foot being planted in his chest as Supergirl swooped down and kicked him back. The man bounced off the side of the truck and was caught by the hero who quickly spun him to the ground with a bit of force.

Hearing the commotion, one of the other robbers jogged towards the truck. El leaped, vaulting over the vehicle, and landing behind him. He spun, but the girl was faster. Before he could react, Supergirl had his gun in her hand. With her other, she broke it in half, then brought her palm around him to push the man back. He collided with the side of the truck and crumpled to the ground.

The third man, seeing the hero now, took off, sprinting towards a nearby onlooker. Suddenly a hubcap collided with his hand. He dropped his gun and turned just in time to meet several, swift punches from the young Super.

"That wasn't very nice," El said, spying the woman who was almost a hostage over his shoulder. She planted her palm under the man's chin and launched him in the air. Supergirl hopped, twisted, and kicked him into a nearby car.

El landed and made a quick survey of the scene. Three perps, less than a minute, no collateral damage. She pumped her fists.

"YES!" she exclaimed. "That was so cool! Tell me that wasn't cool!"

"That was cool," Alex admitted reluctantly in her ear. "You know you have an audience, right?"

Supergirl slowed in her celebration slightly and turned to see a crowd of civilians on the sidewalks. She waved slightly, then straightened up. She saluted the almost hostage.

"Afternoon, citizen," she said.

"Are you kidding me?" Alex asked.

"What?" El said between her teeth, super-smile beaming. "It's a good line." She waved to some more people and inexplicably found herself doing finger guns.

"If you're done playing to the crowd," Alex intoned. "Brainy's got some info. Apparently the M.O. matches a gang that's been making their way up and down the west coast."

"Awesome," El replied. "I stopped serial bank robbers."

"It's a 4 man crew, El," Alex added. "I count 3 on the ground."

El had to agree. She scanned the area quickly. No one running away, no one in the armored car, that just left...

She stepped around to the back of the truck, glancing into the dark interior. "All right," she called within, punching her fist into her open palm. "Come out with your hands up, and I promise to go easy on you."

A figure emerged. It did not have its hands up. El smirked, knowing her fun wasn't quite over. She paused, though, when the man dropped from the back of the truck onto the asphalt.

He left a shallow crater.

He was, already, pushing 7 feet tall, nearly as wide, and severely muscled. He reached up a beefy fist and yanked off his ski mask, revealing an angry visage and grey skin. He snarled at the young woman. Then he began to grow. Wide and tall, his muscles bulged, ripping his shirt. Horns, barely visible before, began to protrude from his shoulders, his cheeks, and a lot of other places. Supergirl's eyes went wide and the smile dropped as he stood to his full height. He turned and began reaching back into the truck.

"Alex, I thought we were sticking with the more mundane problems," El asked with a gulp.

"Yeah," Alex replied, sensing the change in situation in the girl's voice before anything. "Why?"

"Because the fourth guy in this gang is decidedly not from this planet."

"Where is he from?" Alex asked seriously.

El gave the alien the once-over. "Well, judging by the coloration, the horns, and the general nastiness, I'd say this fella originated somewhere in the Ormani Nebula."

"An Ormanian?" Alex replied, barely able to keep the shock out of her voice. "Okay, we're fine as long as he doesn't have his hammer. Ormanian's are deadly with their hammers."

Seemingly in reply, the Ormanian dragged out a length of pipe the thickness of most people neck's and let the large weight it was attached to drop to the pavement.

"Alex," El replied flatly. "He's got a hammer."

It certainly resembled one. Not the quality of the traditional Ormanian glory hammers El had read about. This one looked very much like a lamppost the alien had ripped out of the ground, concrete and all, and then welded metal plates to the side of.

"Okay, that's it," Alex said immediately. "I'm calling in backup."

El's eyes went wide, again, when she realized who 'backup' was. "No, no, no," she quickly said. "I got this! I got this!" This was her chance. This was her chance.

"El!" came Alex's voice, but El wasn't listening. She couldn't afford to, as the Ormanian stomped towards her, dragging the hammer behind him.

El flipped to the side and flattened out in mid-air, narrowly avoiding the first swing of the hammer, which scrapped just past her cape. Supergirl landed and dashed in, laying a heavy blow against the alien’s stomach. He winced and growled.

“Uh-oh,” El said, before ducking another swing. She flipped back. _Okay, new plan._ She dashed to one side. The Romanian stomped after her. Supergirl waited for the swing then tried again with a kick, and a lot less holding back. Her opponent was pushed back. El resisted the urge to exult and instead cartwheeled over the hammer on the backswing. “Ha-ha!” She replied that time, allowing herself a moment of joy. A moment too long as she was quickly reminded why Ormanians are so deadly with hammers: they are surprisingly fast with them.

The strike hit her in the side and flung the young woman across the street to collide with a traffic sign. It was El’s turn to wince. That one had hurt. She picked herself up and gave the alien a tough look. Then she remember Alex’s admonition: she had an audience. Supergirl glanced around at the faces of the onlookers. She pasted on a smile and waved.

“No need to worry, folks,” she said. “Got it all under control.” She sped back in.

Damn, he was fast. El’s strikes were hard, but, somehow, his were harder. Supergirl was knocked for a loop three more times. El waved them off each time. Finally, frustrated, she leapt into the air, flipping over the alien’s head to try and plant a foot into the back of it, when he suddenly turned with lighting speed and caught her by the boot. El barely had time to groan an “uh-oh” before he slammed her into the pavement.

Supergirl rose wearily from her back. Just before the hammer fall.

“Ow,” El winced, mostly out of annoyance. It was breaking the street more than her. But that didn’t stop the Ormanian from hitting again.

“Totally fine, everybody,” El called as the hammer was pulled back.

_WHAM!_

“All part of the plan,” she said, trying to get up.

_SLAM!_

“Just wearing him down!”

_THUD!_

Granted, he would eventually tire, but this was quickly becoming embarrassing. Especially with Alex piping in her ear.

“El! El! Answer me!”

“I’m working on it!” The girl screamed back. Supergirl finally caught the hammer on the downswing. She glared up at the Ormanian. “Do you mind!?” She yelled.

He didn’t seem to, wrenching the hammer from her grasp and raising it over his head again. Fed up, El focused and shot heat vision that connected with the alien’s thumb. He reared back in pain and dropped the hammer. El exulted, right before it landed on top of her.

Supergirl groaned and pushed the hammer aside, finally lifting herself out of the sizable crater they had dug. She huffed and stared at her opponent, even now roaring his own fury back at her.

El laid a hand on the hammer. “Play nice!” She screamed, grabbed it, and spun around, knocking the guy into next week, but, more specifically, through the back of the truck out the front and embedding him into the side of the armored car.

Supergirl let the handle roll out of her hands to drop to the asphalt with a mighty thud. She breathed. _Not too bad_ , she thought to herself. _Not too bad._

Then she looked around. At the street, the cars, a few of which now sported Supergirl-shaped dents, and, especially, all the people watching. What was that about no collateral damage?


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of a big fight, El is desperate to be useful, but is she ready to help the DEO and Superwoman face an old enemy?

It was a quiet day at L-Corp. Lena had had few appointments, and, by chance, they were in between some major company movements, so she actually had a moment to devote to some projects she had been meaning to get her hands into. All in all, it was shaping up to be a productive afternoon, which was just fine for the CEO as being productive always managed to keep her mind off things she'd rather not be occupied with.

It wasn't that she was worried for El. Well, she was, naturally, but it wasn't that she didn't think the girl was up to it. She knew she was. El had never met a problem she couldn't throw herself at fully. In earlier years, Lena had seen that as Kara's influence, but now the dark-haired woman could readily admit it was as much herself in the girl as anyone. El had support, she had training, and she had her Jeju on call for backup.

Still, she was her mother, and that meant she was always going to worry. She was used to keeping an eye on news regarding Superwoman and not being overly reactive when it came to certain updates, but that had come after years of growing comfortable with being married to a superhero and all that entailed. This was her daughter. It was a whole different set of variables, and, for the time being, the woman knew it was better if she didn't check up on how things were going with the new Supergirl. It was just better for everyone.

And yet, some things still managed to find their way to her. Like the 18-year-old, darkly clad girl who just wandered into her office without a word, shuffled towards the couch until her knees hit the arm, pitched forward, and full-on face-planted into the cushions.

Lena finished what she had been typing before she said anything.

"I'd ask how your day was," she said evenly. "But I think you just told me."

In response, El raised her arm in the air, holding up her phone. The dark-haired woman slid out from behind her desk and stepped over to the couch. She took the phone from the girl's hand. El's arm dropped limply back to the sofa. Lena checked the screen and sighed.

'GIRL BLUNDER' the title read under the familiar SuperWatch heading in the CatCo app. Lena's eyes skimmed the rest of the article, but the headline gave it away. It was an op-ed detailing the armored car fight and the author's speculation on how the new Supergirl may have bitten off more than she can chew as regards crime-fighting. There was even a gif showing Supergirl being pounded into the pavement repeatedly by the alien assailant and his hammer. It was, ostensibly, meant to be humorous, but Lena found herself wincing at the looped image. She turned the phone over as she settled down on the couch.

"Oh, baby girl," she cooed.

El crawled forward until her face was resting on her Mom's lap. She mumbled something that Lena didn't catch with her voice muffled into her skirt.

"Try that one again?" she asked.

El turned her head. "I used to like SuperWatch."

Lena stroked the girl's dark hair. "I know, Ellie."

El sniffled. "I beat the guy up. No one wants to talk about that." El held up her fingers. "And three other guys, too."

Lena nodded and stroked her daughter's head gently. The girl curled further into her lap.

"It's not fair," she finally whispered.

"No, it's not," Lena agreed. "But we all have to deal with our share of bad press. Trust me." She glanced at the phone once more with a sigh. "I've seen worse headlines."

"Kinda thought my Luthor half would get me in trouble before my Super half," El observed. She glanced up at her Mom. "No offense."

Lena smirked. "Oh, I know. Boy, do I know." She laid a reassuring hand on the girl's shoulder. "If it helps at all, I did just get off an hour-long phone call with your Jeju, wherein I may have had to talk her down from firing her entire social media staff."

El's eyebrows went up. "Really?"

Lena nodded. "You know Jeju would never have printed an article like that on purpose."

"So she's going to get it pulled?" El asked expectantly.

Mom only returned a knowing stare. El huffed.

"Right, I guess everyone's entitled to their opinions," the teen groaned.

"But we don't have to define ourselves by them," Mom said with a poke to the girl's nose.

El smiled, then her face drifted with a sigh. "I'm trying really hard."

"I know, Ellie baby," Lena soothed again. "And you're doing well, so well. Don't let this get you down. You're going to be great, I know it, but-"

El didn't bother waiting for the remainder. "Things take time," she said. "Yeah, yeah."

Lena brushed the girl's hair away from her face, revealing a patch, dim, almost undetectable, a slight change in shading of the girl's skin, running from her forehead to her chin. The bruise was already healing, but mothers have natural x-ray vision. The dark-haired woman ran a finger down the girl's cheek.

"Mom, it's nothing," El said without looking up.

Lena took her by the chin and gently moved her face until her eyes locked with the woman's. "I'm your mother," she said calmly. "You coming home with bruises will never be nothing. Understood?"

El nodded. She looked back up at Mom. "So Jeju really wanted to fire everyone?"

Lena nodded with an expression that said she understood the sentiment. "Kara can be a terror when she has righteous fury on her side." She smirked at the girl and pointed a finger. "But there will never be a mama bear fiercer than me."

El shook her head. "No, ma'am."

Lena hugged her and planted a kiss on the girl's forehead. El let herself sink into it. It wasn't much, but, at the same time, it was the whole world.

* * *

Things take time. Especially when those things are controlled by other people who are hesitant to let you near them after a particularly brutal fight with a nine-foot, hammer-wielding alien. Supergirl still got called for the small jobs, but most of her time was now spent in the DEO for "observation." Whether that meant the girl was being observed or she was observing others, possibly to learn "how to do it right", no one had clarified for El, but she expected it was just as likely a flimsy excuse to keep her close so she didn't accidentally find herself going toe-to-toe with any extraordinary problems.

It was ironic that a building El had already spent too much of her time in, a good portion of which when she wasn't really supposed to be there, now felt like a prison. She trained, mostly because she knew that's what Alex wanted her to do, but she quickly tired of that. There's only so many simulations and sparring bouts you can go through before it all becomes meaningless. Because you need to prove yourself out in the field. _Which was the whole idea!_ She wanted to scream at someone. So instead she wandered the halls between the gym and the hub, even dropping down to the security levels where the DEO kept the more violent detainees in isolation. Finally, she found herself in the labs, hoping against hope that she might prove herself useful here if nowhere else.

"Hey, Brains," she said as she walked into the main laboratory.

The Coluan gave her a polite wave, less a greeting than she might have expected, but she could tell from his body language that Querl's mind was very occupied by something. His fingers worked swiftly through a holo-projection of calculations, moving with near blinding speed. A year ago, the young woman may have found it hard to follow, but, what with super reflexes, she was able to watch the display at Brainy's pace and even recognize some of the equations. She especially recognized some of the symbols.

"Is that Kryptonian?" she asked.

"Most observant," Querl commented after a moment. He swept a hands and the myriad numbers and variables coalesced into a complex algorithm.

El brightened at the compliment. "Need any assistance?" she asked, hopefully.

"Not at all," Querl replied in his even way.

El slumped slightly. "What are you working on?"

"Something you might be familiar with," answered the Coluan. He gestured towards a nearby lab table where a scanning field of holographic light played over an object. Querl waved another hand and the field revealing the basketball-sized device.

El's breath caught her throat, her hand formed into a fist, in reaction.

It was black, charred black from years in orbit being darkened by solar radiation, but, even so, she could see the Kryptonian glyphs that wrapped all around the surface of the sphere. Granted, last time she had seen this thing it had been inside a person, still she could recognize it.

"The Eradicator matrix," she whispered cautiously.

"Indeed," Brainy added. He finally seemed to sense the young woman's tension. "It is, of course, inoperative."

El let out a controlled breath and nodded. She remembered, months ago, Brainy mentioning that they had been successful in removing the matrix from it's one-time host, a Dr. David Connor of STAR Labs, whom the matrix had turned into a one-man Super-knockoff. El had filed that knowledge away, happy that Dr. Connor had been saved and, moreover, that this thing would never again threaten anyone.

"I'm surprised they haven't put this thing in deep storage," she observed.

"That was suggested," Brainy said. "However, the matrix is highly advanced nanotech. We could stand to learn a great deal from it."

El had to shake her head at that. She circled around the object, keeping a safe distance. "It tried to kill me, Brainy," she said. "I'm not exactly eager to see it operational."

"True," Querl said, in that very matter-of-fact way of his. "But I can assure you any knowledge gained would only be used towards replicating it's technology, certainly not its function or programming."

"Good to know," El said with another sigh. One less alien eugenics nightmare roaming around. She stared at the black sphere. In a way, she had it to thank for her new life. It was the first alien threat she had fought, and won. But she couldn't suppress the shiver at all the chaos it had caused, all the grief and anxiety. A last vestige of her Jeju’s home planet and a time where “impure” held a very dark meaning.

She turned back to her Coluan friend when a sound caught her ears. She had long since been trained to attune her hearing to keep certain sounds in the background, at the edge of her hearing, and one just popped up nearby.

"I got to go," she said before dashing off.

El hit the hub a minute later. She would have been faster, but she had actually walked when she hit this floor. She didn't want to look too eager.

She had been waiting for a sound all afternoon. The particular beat of a particular heart, and it, literally, just landed in the hub. She could hear it right alongside her Aunt's. If there was any possibility of Supergirl seeing action tonight, the young woman figured, it was patrolling alongside Superwoman, who had just parked her boots in the DEO. El approached quietly and caught the conversation as she did.

"Our contacts have confirmed," Alex said. "The package is on the move."

"When?" Kara asked.

"As soon as tonight."

"That's quick. I thought we had another week at least."

"So did I, but it's possible, entirely likely in fact, that they are onto us and are pushing up their time table."

"Where are we with the third team?"

Alex seemed to sigh. "FBI won't have assets in place until tomorrow. I've tapped other departments, but, given the time crunch, the only thing available would be local authorities."

El heard the gentle swish of blond curls as Kara shook her head. "We can't trust this to the police. There's too much at stake."

"Well, then we'll need to call in some back-up."

"Anything I can help with?" El asked and watched the room, most specifically the two women with their backs turned to her, freeze.

It was a full beat, before Jeju turned around, with a pasted on though pleasant smile. "Hi, little one. What's up?"

El rocked on her heels. She couldn't help but notice Alex wasn't making eye contact.

"I was going to ask you that," she fired back.

Kara didn't sweat, under normal circumstances, byproduct of an alien physiology, but there were times when it really looked like she was sweating. Mom had become quite adept at identifying them, and El had learned from her.

It was clear, it was perfectly obvious, why the conversation had stopped the moment the young woman had made her presence known. El was very much aware that they didn't want her to know something and were about to do whatever they could to divert her away from it. That, of course, was just a giant, neon, flashing arrow drawing her attention straight to it.

El waited. No one spoke. She sighed. "Okay, so I heard 'package' and 'moving tonight'. Anything else I should be aware of?"

Alex rolled her eyes. Jeju fixed her daughter with a disappointed glare. El just pointed at her ears.

"Super hearing, come on," she said. She sidled towards the hub's center table and spread her arms out over it. "Look, you can tell me or you know I can find out on my own."

She stared between her Jeju and her Aunt, both buttoned up and silent.

She huffed in annoyance. "Fine," she said, grabbed a tablet off the table and started typing into it.

Alex ripped it out of her hands a moment later with an annoyed look. The redhead flipped the tablet over and was not a little shocked to find it was already displaying the DEO restricted files. She glared even more annoyed at the girl, who just raised her eyebrows in a 'you-shoulda-known' gesture. Alex glanced at Kara, who finally gave in.

"We're working on something," she said.

El looked at her and waited.

"A mission."

The girl slid around the circumference of the table towards her.

"An important mission."

"And?" El asked.

"And that's all you need to know," Jeju replied.

"Oh come on!" Supergirl exclaimed before bringing her most powerful ability to bear: Puppy-dog eyes.

"That's not-" Kara started and stopped. She knew instantly it was a lie. She sighed and looked away. "We've been tracking a shipment we think is going to be made sometime soon-"

"Alex said tonight," El interjected, catching on immediately to her Jeju's attempt to throw her off.

"Tonight," Kara corrected. "And we're looking to intercept it."

"Who's shipping it?" the girl asked and watched the tension between the two old woman ramp up a degree. "Who?" she repeated with deep curiosity.

It was a minute before Alex answered, "Cadmus."

That got the young woman's attention. Her eyes went wide. "Really?" she said and realized she sounded a little more excited than she should have. She cleared her throat and tried to ratchet the exuberance down a few notches. "They haven't been operating seriously in like, what, 10 years?"

Alex nodded. "We've been hearing chatter for months. Unconfirmed reports, but we finally got word of something serious and have been following it for the last couple of weeks."

"Can I help?" El asked, almost before the DEO director was done. It was clearly more eager than she was meant to be, as evidenced by the look Alex gave Kara.

"Little one," Jeju started.

"Come on!" El spun to her quickly. She threw a hand to her Aunt. "Alex talked about a third team, which you don't have apparently." She looked at Superwoman knowingly. "So I'm guessing your team 1, a DEO strike unit is team 2, and we've got at least three places to hit?" She didn't have to glance at Alex to know she was right.

"There's three trucks," the director replied. "We need to hit them all simultaneously or risk blowing the whole operation."

Kara looked past El. "Barry? He can get here quick."

Alex shook her head. "It's Cadmus, we need muscle. Superman?"

It was Kara's turn to shake her head. "Kal's off-world following up on some League stuff."

"Wow, if we only had another Super on the planet to help out," El observed sarcastically. She locked eyes with Alex and read the retort, unspoken. The girl's fist landed on the table loudly. "Do not serious tell me you're going to go to Jonathan before me." She followed Alex's gaze towards Jeju. "Come on," El pleaded.

"Little one," Kara started then squared herself. "El, this is a very important operation. A lot could be riding on it."

"I know that," the girl said. "I can do it. Please." She stared up at Superwoman. They were past puppy-dog eyes, past playful eagerness. She stared up at her Jeju with all the earnestness she had, with deep, deep longing. She stepped forward, dipping her head. ”Please, let me help," she whispered.

Kara looked down at her daughter, a fountain of love and understanding in her eyes. She laid a hand on her shoulder and sighed resolutely. She pointed a finger in the girl's face.

"Alex is going to spot you." The girl brightened immediately. Kara leveled the finger seriously. "You will do exactly what she says, exactly when she says it. Understood?"

El nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

Kara looked up at Alex, who nodded her agreement. El suppressed the thrill of glee that raced through her. Still, first DEO mission. This was a milestone.

How right she turned out to be.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new Supergirl gets her first taste of Cadmus. Cue action and a twist?!

"I can do this," El whispered. She punched the air a couple of times, swung out her shoulders, and shifted back and forth on her heels. A normal gesture, somewhat odd, though, at a couple thousand feet off the ground. She took a deep breath of the cold night air and tried to psyche herself up for the dozenth time.

Night op. She could do night ops. Minimal civilians around, no one to see her, no one to judge her. Sure it was a ruthless and extremely well-armed enemy who literally hated Supers and had the technological capabilities to seriously hurt them, and, yeah, this was a highly coordinated effort that could go south if every component wasn't working to full strength. But, hey, her costume was already night camo ready, so there was that.

"You can do this," she repeated to herself. "You can do this."

"You know I can hear you, right?" a voice piped in her ear.

El coughed awkwardly. "Uh, yeah," she lied. "Totally." She chuckled just as awkwardly. "Who do you think I was doing that for?"

A very judge-y silence followed. Finally her aunt sighed. "It's okay, if you're nervous."

"I'm not-" El started.

"El," came the quick interjection.

Supergirl swallowed. "Okay, maybe a little."

"That's fine," Alex repeated. "Just stay focused and stick to the plan, okay? I'll be right here."

"Roger," El said with a determined nod. You can do this, she mouthed.

It was a simple job. Deceptively simple. Intel said Cadmus was moving something, something important, something possibly dangerous, possibly serious, and something they definitely didn't want the DEO or Superwoman to have their hands on. The briefing had been straightforward. Cadmus was running a shell game. Three trucks, three shipments, but odds are what they were after was only on one of them. If they wanted to secure it before Cadmus could react, they had to hit all three trucks simultaneously. Superwoman was taking one, a DEO strike unit would handle the other, and that left the third truck for Supergirl. To say there was a lot riding on her was putting it lightly. To say the young woman wasn't putting a lot on herself to prove her abilities was a gross understatement.

Still, they had a plan, and, as far as they knew, Cadmus did not know they were coming. They had moved up their time table to try and catch the DEO and Superwoman off-guard. They might not even suspect they'd tap Supergirl, which might mean that the operation's wild card could just be the linch pin. El tried to comfort herself with that thought. Of course, this could also be one giant booby trap. El tried not to think about that. Of all they knew about the operation, though, there was still one, glaring question mark.

"So what do we know about the package?" El asked as she waited.

"Only that Cadmus has it and doesn't want us to," Alex replied.

"So it could be anything," Supergirl observed.

"Yep, though it's likely one thing," the DEO director replied. "Could be a weapon, some kind of alien artifact, could even be a person."

El nodded. "So probably not a good idea to blast it with my heat vision, huh?"

More judgmental silence followed.

"That was a joke, Alex," the girl added. "I'm using humor to defuse tension."

"And what gave you the idea now was a good time for jokes?"

El let a beat go by. "I'm sorry, have you met Jeju?"

"Focus up," Alex replied. "You're on deck."

El squared her shoulders, still hovering in the dark sky. She stared down at a web of bright light below, the headlights of ten thousand cars weaving their way across the desert. A major highway sat like a jeweled artery just below. From it veined out smaller and smaller roads. El watched and let the dull roar of the night traffic fill her ears. Radios blasted, the occasional horn blared, and a million engine parts vibrated in cacophony.

"Team 1 and 2 have ID'ed their targets," Alex said. "That just leaves you, kiddo. You remember the noise you're looking for?"

"Yeah," El confirmed. "Give me a second." She focused, tuning out the subtle differences between motorcycle and minivan, box truck and semi, until she narrowed it down to a handful of big rigs making their way down the highway. She scanned each one. "I think I got it," she finally spoke.

"You sure?" Alex asked.

"Yeah, just turned off an exit and headed out into the countryside." El focused. "It's maybe ten miles south of my current position." Her eyes narrowed to a single truck kicking up dust as it moved onto a small, two-lane road. The metal of the cab became transparent, along with everything else, revealing a pair skeletons and a lot of hardware. "Drivers are armed." She moved down the truck.

"Could just be truck drivers," Alex shot back. "Humor," she added flatly.

"Yeah," El said with a smile. "But I can't see into the trailer, which means it's probably lead-lined, which means-"

"Bingo," Alex said. El heard the click of a tablet. "Satellite's got them. Definitely our guys. License and registration looks phony."

El allowed herself a single fist-bump.

"Trucks also running pretty hot," Alex added. "Which means they're pulling some hardware. That thing might be seriously armed, El."

"Got it," Supergirl replied as she squared up. "Go time?”

"Not yet," her aunt replied quickly. "I'm notifying the other teams. Everyone is in position. We go on my count. 3. 2. 1. GO!"

Supergirl took off like a shot, angling down towards the truck in a beeline at sonic speeds. The landscape blew past as she dipped to come in low, the truck ever growing as she closed the distance. She was just about to let herself feel things were going well, when she spied a bump, on top of the trailer, open up and a shape emerge, one with two barrels, that turned quickly in her direction.

El darted to the side just as twin glowing shots burst the sky beside her.

"Be warned," Alex said. "The other teams are meeting heavy resistance."

"YEAH, I NOTICED!" El called back as she swooped in a wide circle around the truck.

The turret pivoted swiftly, throwing continuous fire. It was all she could do to keep ahead of it. She pulled around to the far side, fire still lighting up a trail behind her. She turned her head, aimed, and shot bright blue beams. The turret barrels shifted and shot out two shells instead of the green orbs. They burst a meter in front of her heat vision and spread a thousand shards of glittering shrapnel, intercepting and scattering the ray.

"El, you need to take that thing out," Alex suggested.

"I'm working on it," the teen replied. "It's got countermeasures."

She tried heat vision twice more, flying and strafing in quick, nearly random vectors to get around it, but the turret found her each time. Frustrated, she doubled back to attempt once more, but the machine was even smarter than she thought. Another burst exploded right in front of her. Supergirl spun and pirouetted towards the ground, colliding and throwing up dust.

"EL!" Alex called, but the young hero was already on her feet.

"I'm okay," she replied, but the situation was not. The truck was moving away, picking up speed. She took off, running this time, pumping legs and arms and staying low to the ground. The turret continued to swivel, throwing fire after her, but less accurately.

"It's having a hard time locking on when you're that close to the ground," Alex mentioned.

El nodded. Visual tracking sensors. Sophisticated, but everything's got blind spots. Still, she knew if she got any closer, it'd blast her back. Time to get creative.

El sped across the desert floor, kicking up dust as she pulled ahead of the truck. She dodged boulders and cacti until she spied a rock just the right size. She dipped a hand and scooped it right up as sped by, then, spinning rapidly, she launched it, discus style, back at her target, and followed it up with shot of heat vision. Good thing she had been working on her aim for months. She hit the rock as hit flew, heating the stone to glowing orange. The turret targeted it immediately and shot. The flak burst the stone, scattering it into a hundred, glowing hot pieces, which collided with the turret, bursting it like a bubble of fire.

El picked up another rock and repeated the action towards the truck. The stone tore through the front axle, bursting the tires and sending the truck screeching and drifting.

Supergirl punched the sky. "Yes!" she cried as the truck ground its way towards a halt. "I'm a genius!" she called out to the desert. Then she watched the truck lurch to one side, jackknifing, and the trailer began to pitch dangerously on its wheels. El's arms dropped. "Oh, I'm an idiot."

She sped towards the impending crash, flying around to catch the trailer as it nearly barrel-rolled over the road. Supergirl held the massive weight back, slowly setting it down on the asphalt. She lowered back to the ground with a breath.

"No one saw that, right?" she said, she hoped to no one in particular.

"Uh, kiddo?"

Right, her chaperone. "Hey," El added quickly. "I stopped the truck. Can we focus on the positive, please?"

Judge-y, judge-y silence followed. The teen sighed and stepped towards the cab.

"I'm checking on the drivers," she said.

"Be careful," said Alex. "They could be armed."

"Yeah, yeah," El replied but squared up still. She grabbed the driver's side door and wrenched it open.

The man inside was armed, but, thankfully, he was also disoriented. He held his head and moaned.

"Hi," Supergirl said cheerily. "Someone call AAA?"

The man only gave her a bleary stare. _Say, hadn't there been two of them?_ The other made his presence known when he appeared around the front of the truck, brandishing a gun.

"Hold on," El said to the man inside before hammering a fist against the door, ripping it off its hinges and sending it sailing towards the other man, knocking him on his ass. She turned back to find the first man had got his wits together enough to pull out his own gun. El intercepted it. "No," she chided with a finger in his face. "Bad Cadmus agent. That's not how we act." And she tapped him on the forehead. Hard. He was out like a light, slumping forward in his seat.

"Are you proud of that line?" she heard Alex pipe in her ear.

"Hey, my banter is primo," Supergirl was quick to fire back. "And I will make no apologies. Drivers neutralized, FYI."

"I can see that," said Alex. "Keep in mind, there could be an entire team of Cadmus soldiers in the trailer."

"If there are, they can't be too comfortable after the ride they just took," Supergirl observed.

"And who do they have to thank for that?"

"Positive!" El cried as she made her way towards the rear of the trailer. She scanned along the sides, looking for additional weaponry, but there didn't seem to be anything obvious, which meant she was either home free or the really nasty stuff was still waiting. "Say, how are the other teams doing?"

"Already mopping up," Alex pointed out. El tried not to scowl. "By the way, team 2 found industrial waste, and Superwoman's trailer only had weapons."

"Anything exotic?"

"Conventional arms, from what we can tell," Alex answered. "Which means..."

"Either I have the real thing or I have the booby trap," El noted. She stepped towards the trailer doors. They seemed secure and sealed. She could rip them off but decided on the more nuanced approach. Supergirl swept her eyes up and around the perimeter of the back doors, slicing through the hinges. When she'd cut the whole rectangle out, she grabbed the door handle and yanked it back. The doors flew off, right as El hit the ground.

She waited.

As kryptonite-fueled murder bots weren't bursting forth, she figured she could risk a look. El's head popped up, over the rim of the trailer floor. Inside was pitch black. El's eyes adjusted.

"What do you got?" Alex asked.

"No army of Cadmus agents," El observed as she peered further. Her eyes spied some machinery towards the back, for the turret she figured, but, otherwise, the trailer was empty, except for a chair. And a figure strapped into it. "I think our package is a person."

"Okay," Alex noted. "Proceed with caution."

El nodded and hopped into the truck. She swept eyes over every inch of the walls and ceiling, looking for hidden wires and traps, but there seemed to be nothing. She inched slowly forward as she continued to scan. Finally, she neared the chair and its occupant, having not run into any further resistance. She stepped towards the individual and could immediately tell they were unconscious. Possibly from the rollercoaster ride they had just taken, courtesy of Supergirl, or from the needle in their arm attached to the IV drip.

"Anything?" Alex asked.

"A woman, I think," El said as her vision picked out details in the dark. “Older. She’s strapped down, so I don’t think she was taking this ride of her own free will.” The woman hung limply against her restraints, her head lolled to one side and white hair covered her face. El stepped forward. "Ma'am, if you can hear me, it's going to be okay. We're going to get you out of here."

The older woman let out a groan. El reached forward to cradle her head, setting her neck back to a more agreeable angle.

"It's going to be okay," El said and allowed herself a smile. Their night op had just turned into a rescue mission. She swept the woman's hair aside, revealing her face. Supergirl’s eyes went wide.

She hadn't seen the face before, except in pictures, and many years younger than she was now. Still, El recognized her, and the sight of her, plus the sheer unexpectedness of finding her here, a prisoner of Cadmus, was enough to make the teen jump back.

Alex heard the young hero gasp. "What? What is it?" she asked urgent.

"That prisoner Cadmus was holding," El answered after a minute of bated breath. "It's Lillian Luthor.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lillian is back. With the revelation of the Luthor matriarch's return comes a lot of questions, but can they trust any of the answers?

Questions. Lots and lots of questions. A mountain of them, unanswered.

Cadmus had been underground for nearly 2 decades. No major movements or exploits, just the occasional rumor, a bit of anti-alien activity that might could be tied to them. It was getting so that even the most pessimistic DEO agent was starting to believe they really had died out. 

Then tonight. Then this op, a chance to deal them a blow and maybe convince whatever was left of Cadmus that it just wasn’t worth coming out of hiding. Then this.

Then questions.

And, the teen knew, as she stared at the monitor currently displaying a feed of the medbay, that they could all be answered by the white-haired woman currently lying unconscious, strapped into the hospital bed. Would she answer them, though?

El had been raised on stories of the Luthors. They were more cautionary tales. Of all her parents’ stories, those she had the least curiosity for. Especially where this woman was concerned. Mom had always had an open-door policy when it came to her past. She valued honesty, and whenever her daughter had a question about her family, where she came from, the dark-haired woman rarely hesitated to answer. So, El had heard more than she ever needed to in order to develop an opinion on Lillian Luthor.

She’d be lying if a part of her hadn’t considered just leaving her in that trailer. Then again, she was too dangerous to be unwatched. Which begged the question: What the hell was she doing in chains in the back of a Cadmus truck?

“What do we know?” Superwoman said as she strode into the hub. El finally turned away from the monitor to see the red-and-blue clad hero, hands on hips, pointedly avoiding the monitors and instead looking to the DEO director.

“Nothing much,” Alex replied. She nodded towards the medbay. “She’s stable. They had her on some kind of anesthetic, possibly for transport.” Alex clicked through her tablet and an array of readings populated the main hub monitor. “She’s pretty dehydrated, and there are a number of other injuries that make me think she had a rough time before we found her. Electrocution scars, needle marks, and a number of hairline fractures in the hands.”

“You think she was interrogated?” Superwoman asked.

Alex nodded. “She’s got all the hallmarks of it.”

“Cadmus?”

“Seems like it.”

Superwoman finally turned to the monitors and the old woman. “Why would Cadmus torture Lillian?”

Alex could only shrug. “Your guess is as good as mine.”

El watched the two women stand in silence. Alex was tense but more or less unreadable. Kara, however, was a barely-lidded boiling pot. Her fists flexed at her sides as she shifted on her feet. She looked ready to hit something, and the teen wasn’t sure if it’d be a wall or the woman in the bed. 

Funny how an hour ago she had been terribly proud of herself, eagerly wanting to get back to HQ so Jeju might tell her she had done a good job. All that, of course, seemed incredibly trivial now. There was really only one question, and Alex asked it.

“Have you talked to Lena?”

Jeju visibly hardened at the name, shields up. She nodded. “She’s on her way,” she whispered, eyes glued on the monitor, now. Oh, yeah, she definitely wanted to punch someone.

The hub was a quiet beehive of activity for a while. The teams were still mopping up the personnel captured in the field. There might be some information they could glean from the prisoners, but experience with Cadmus operatives told them there wasn’t likely to be too much there. It was almost a certainty the drivers hadn’t known what they were carrying or why. El took the time to watch the monitor. Lillian dozed, still working off whatever drug-induced stupor they’d had her in. She hardly seemed a threat, now, in that bed, yet El’s eyes were glued, ready the moment she should awaken.

There was a noticeable dip in the volume of the room as a pair of heels clicked into the hub. Supergirl had heard the heartbeat since it stepped into the elevator. She turned to see Mom breathing quietly and staring. She didn’t have to wonder where Lena’s eyes were. The dark-haired woman turned away from the monitors only when Kara stepped towards her, a reassuring hand snaking around her waist. They exchanged some quiet words, and El tuned her hearing elsewhere, allowing them the privacy. Finally, Kara gave her wife a serious look. Lena nodded back. Alex stepped towards them.

“I thought you might like to know,” El heard. “We think she’s waking up.”

“I’m going to talk to her,” Kara said immediately.

“Kara,” Lena interjected.

“Nothing like that,” Superwoman replied with a weak smile. “All business, I promise. We have a lot of questions.”

Lena nodded. Kara pecked her cheek and stepped away slowly, letting her hand linger on the dark-haired woman’s waist before turning towards the medbay. El watched her go before turning back to the monitors herself. The girl felt a sudden hand on her shoulder. She turned to her Jeju.

“Hey, little one,” Superwoman said quietly. “You did good. Okay?”

El allowed herself a smile. She nodded. Jeju mirrored it, then turned and stepped away.

On the monitors, the white-haired woman seeming to be rousing. Her head shook back and forth weakly, then, gradually, her eyes fluttered open. She blinked at the fluorescent lights, holding a hand up to block her face, only to quickly find it was attached to a shackle. El smiled at that.

 _Surprise,_ b _ee-yotch._

The teen turned to see her mother also staring at the monitors. She stepped close to her. Without looking away, Lena wrapped an arm around her daughter. El hugged her gently, nuzzling her head against the woman’s shoulder.

“You okay?” She whispered.

Lena let out a dry huff. “Which of us is the mother here?”

El shrugged. “I mean…” She nodded knowingly towards the screen. “It’s you-know-who.”

Lena finally tore her eyes away from the monitor. “You and your Jeju,” she laughed. “Always so protective.” She planted a kiss to El’s hairline. “I’m fine,” she said. “I promise. It’s unexpected but…” And El heard the sigh, deep out of her chest. Lena shook her head, as if shaking away the past. “It’s all right.”

El nodded and they both turned back to the monitor, where Superwoman was now stepping into frame. Lillian continued to blink, disoriented, confused, until finally her eyes seemed to focus on the figure now standing at the foot of the bed. The white-haired woman’s eyes narrowed.

 _Ah_ , El thought, _now there’s the Lillian I’ve heard so much about._

If a gaze could spray acid, which, ironically, some aliens’ can, Lillian would be dousing Superwoman up and down. The Super only stood solid, arms crossed, and stared back. El half-expected Jeju’s eyes to glow.

“Well,” Lillian finally spoke, her voice gravely, dehydrated, but just as much the cruel, put-upon drawl. “Two guesses as to where I am.”

“Hello, Lillian,” Superwoman said.

“‘Hello’?” Lillian questioned. “What’s it been? 20 years? And that’s the best you can come up with? No threats? No self-righteous speeches? No promises that justice will be had at last? I mean, I really expected to be in chains, already. Oh wait.” The woman held up her hands. “I am.”

Superwoman only returned stoic silence.

Lillian leaned forward in her bed. “Oh come now,” she intoned. “Surely, you have more for me.” She looked around the empty medbay. “Where are the guards? Where are the guns trained on me? I expected more of a response. I am a Luthor, after all.”

Superwoman’s head titled to one side. “Well, considering you’re in a talkative mood,” she said at last. “Maybe you’d be willing to answer some questions.”

“Oh, goodie,” Lillian sneered. “I was hoping we’d get right to the interrogation. Fair warning.” She held up a finger, her arm coming up short against the restraints. “Cadmus has already worked me over, so my tolerance for ‘advanced techniques’ is fairly high.”

“Let’s start there, then,” Superwoman said. “What were you doing in the back of that truck?”

“Was I in a truck?” The old woman asked. “You’ll excuse me, I’ve been unconscious for the last few days, maybe weeks. Drug-induced comas tend to do that.”

“Why was Cadmus holding you prisoner?” The hero asked pointedly.

Lillian sighed. For a moment, El almost thought she saw the woman deflate slightly. “I’m not exactly what you’d call ‘popular’ these days among Cadmus at large.”

Superwoman huffed in disbelief. “You helped found it.”

“I know,” the woman replied knowingly. “That’s what makes it so insulting.”

“Why?” Superwoman repeated, pointedly.

Lillian sighed again, more put-upon this time, more stereotypically Luthor-esque. “Well, when you run an organization dedicated to ridding the planet of alien filth, people tend to expect results.” She threw her hands to either side, almost comically coming up short again. “I’ve been at it for some 30 years, and, well, you see the way the world is.” She shrugged. “So, people start to question your priorities and your loyalties, and, then, these people might decide you’re just not _fit,_ ” and the word lanced off the woman’s tongue like a dagger, “to run things, anymore.”

Superwoman couldn’t help but smirk. “So, they showed you the door?”

“No, they shoved me into the back of a truck, apparently,” Lillian drawled. She sighed again, resignedly. “I suppose it was for the best. When you come from a family famous for hating aliens, it’s not going to look very good if people ever figure out your daughter married one.”

El watched Lillian’s gaze level against Jeju. Simultaneously she felt Mom stiffen beside her. The teen held her tighter.

“And then has a half-breed with her to top it all off,” the woman added.

At that, El stiffened. She felt Mom’s hand soft and soothing at her shoulder.

“So, you know,” Superwoman says after a full minute.

“Oh, Kara, Kara, Kara,” Lillian chuckled. “I’ve known for some time. By the way, I’m very very late, but, I must say, peach is so overdone for wedding colors.”

El watched as Superwoman took a slow, controlled breath. “Let’s get back to the matter at hand.”

“Really?” Lillian intoned. “But I’m not done catching up. I’ve missed so much, after all. How is the little mongrel, by the way?”

Jeju took a step towards the bed. If the crossed arms hadn’t before, her whole stature now screamed threat.

Lillian only laughed. “Oh, you Supers, so easy.”

“If you ever want to get out of that bed,” Kara said, her voice low and severe. “I suggest you start saying things we want to hear.”

The old Luthor smirked. “Oh, Ms. Danvers, if I ever thought you actually had it in you, I’d just about welcome that.” She laid her head back on the bed. “However, I am feeling terribly taxed by this whole ordeal.” She waved a dismissive hand at the caped hero. “Do leave me to rest, will you?”

Superwoman glared, hard, for a minute, before she turned and stomped out of the room. Jeju stomped into the hub a moment later.

“Find the darkest cell and lock her away, Alex,” she practically growled. “I don’t care if I never see her smug, lying, speciest face ever again.”

Alex opened her mouth, though it looked, for a moment, like she could easily agree or disagree with that sentiment. Lena, however, beat her to it.

“Kara,” she chided softly, and there was years of marriage behind it.

The Super toned down the supernova just a smidge. She stepped towards her wife and kissed her dark hair, wrapping her arms around her. Lena held her tight as Kara breathed her in. When she finally seemed calm, Jeju slipped from her embrace and stepped towards her daughter, quickly wrapping her in a firm hug. El felt the kiss against her hair as well and let herself be absorbed into the parental protectiveness.

* * *

“So, what are we going to do with her?” Alex asked.

It had been several hours since Lillian had first woken up. It was now getting into early morning, but no one had gone home yet. There was still the Luthor question to deal with. They all stood in the hub, Alex, Kara, Lena, and El, watching the monitors where a rather smug-looking, older woman sat up in her bed eating a hospital-grade breakfast. She appeared stable, her appetite being a good sign of improvement, and Kara had been more than happy to see her moved down into an isolation cell.

“We know my vote,” Superwoman replied with an eye to the screen and a look like she still might punch someone.

“If she was on the outs with Cadmus,” Alex said. “She might be willing to cooperate.”

“Assuming she was telling the truth about that,” Kara pointed out. Eyes drifted towards one figure at the central table.

Lena merely shrugged. “I wouldn’t put it past Lillian or Cadmus to make this some kind of a setup.”

“Even if it’s not,” Kara added. “If she was on Cadmus’ bad side, who’s to say she knows anything useful?”

“She might not, but we have to try,” the DEO director pointed out. Superwoman gave her a sour look. “I’m not saying let her out,” Alex added. “Ever, but she worked with Cadmus for 20 years. She practically founded it. She might be able to give us something, names, locations, anything.”

“Lillian is not going to give anything up easily,” Lena said.

“Who said anything about ‘easy’?” Kara asked as her right fist met her left palm.

“I don’t think that’s the best idea, Kara,” Alex replied. “You looked ready to fry her back there.”

“For good reason,” the blonde said.

El glanced from the conversation back to the monitor, to the woman in the cell. She had heard stories about Lillian, adoptive mother, queen bee, business woman, racist demagogue. None of the tales had ever endeared the woman to her, and for good reason. If it hadn’t been the massive anti-alien nightmare, there was the not little matter of years of emotional abuse she had visited on her Mom. If Kara had been ready to torch the woman in her bed, her daughter had not been far behind.

“There might be another way.” All eyes turned to Lena. “Lillian is no saint, but she does value family.”

Jeju’s brow furrowed. The realization suddenly hit her. “No, Lena,” she said, shaking her head.

“She might talk to me,” Mom replied.

“I don’t care!” Kara exclaimed. “I’m not putting you in a room with her. Not a chance.” She fumed for a breath. “Lena, that woman…” And it was clear the vocabulary she wanted to use was too much even for her.

Still, Mom had a point. Whatever she thought of Lena’s life choices, being a Luthor meant something to Lillian. Then again, Lena wasn’t the only Luthor in the building, was she?

Lena stepped around the edge of the table and ran delicate fingers up her wife’s back. “Kara, I love you,” she said with a half-smile. “But you don’t have to worry. Lillian can’t hurt me anymore.” She kissed Kara’s cheek, still flushed with anger. “I don’t need you all to protect me. Not you, and especially not El.”

With the mention of the teen, Alex looked around the hub, only to find someone missing. “Where is El?” She asked.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Lillian Luthor to meet her granddaughter, but are either prepared for that?

Lillian finished up her breakfast with relish. It was bland and not altogether easy to eat with the single, biodegradable plastic spoon the DEO had provided, almost like they were paranoid about giving her sharp objects. That suited her just fine. She slid the tray and plasticware into the slot by the bed and watched it seal shut, leaving her alone in the glass enclosed isolation cell with nothing but the subtle beep of medical-monitoring equipment implanted into the wall for company. She laid her head back and sighed contentedly. She knew what was coming next. 

She didn’t have long to wait.

The white-haired woman smirked and sat up against the pillow to face the glass wall of her cell and the person standing on the other side.

“I really thought Kara would be the first one down here," she intoned. "It didn't feel like she got to tear into me as much as she wanted in the initial questioning."

El dragged a chair over and set it in front of the glass. She took her seat and stared at the woman.

Lillian leaned forward to consider the girl. ”You have Lena's eyes,” she said. “But I suppose everyone tells you that."

Supergirl continued to stare in silence.

"I must say, I haven't heard much, but it certainly seems like you're making a name for yourself. Albeit a borrowed one.” Lillian's lips curled slightly in that condescending way. The woman didn't look like she was even trying; it was just a natural shape her mouth seemed to take. "Please don't misunderstand, the first Supergirl made quite a few missteps in her initial months. You shouldn't feel bad in the slightest. You're learning, after all." The tone was ostensibly friendly, but, just like the face, it seemed the woman had a hard time even sounding sincere. Maybe it was force of habit, maybe she just didn't care.

El only stared back, resting her chin on her fist. The aged Luthor stared back.

"I'm sorry," Lillian finally said. "Did you come down here to say something?"

"I'm just thinking," the young woman finally replied. Her head tilted to one side. “Grandmom?" She said. 

Lillian's eyebrow raised in confusion.

"You see, I have a 'grandma' already," El explained. "I know kids usually come up with the name naturally, but, of course, you were not a part of my childhood, for good reason, so we've got some ground to cover, and I'm very interested in your opinion."

Lillian's face soured.

"Grandmom?" the young woman repeated as if trying it on, then shook her head. "Granny?" She shook her head again. Definitely not a “granny.” El motioned to the woman. "Feel free to chime in."

Lillian only scowled further.

"Meemaw?" El tried. "No. Mimi? Mama? Nonna? Too ethnic? Okay. Gummy? Pippy?" She gasped suddenly. "Mumu?" But she shook her head once more. "Nana?" The young woman's hands clapped together suddenly. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "Nana. Nana Lillian. Oh my gosh, it's perfect!"

"If you're quite done-"

"Oh, I'm just getting started." El grinned.

"I would have expected your mother to teach you respect."

"Oh, she did," El countered, rising from her chair. "She taught me respect and compassion and generosity." Supergirl strode towards the cell. "But she didn't learn any of those things from you."

"And did she teach you to talk back to your elders?"

"When they're wrong? Yeah." El's smile widened. "I guess she might have learned _that_ from you."

"Was there a point to all this?" Lillian sighed and leaned back.

"Well, Nana Lillian," El said and leaned casually up against the glass. “Last night you were drugged up and locked in the back of a truck, and now you're here." The teen shrugged. "Just thought you could use some company."

"And I suppose you're the DEO welcoming party?" the old woman asked.

"No," El said. "I'm the Sass Patrol." She pointed at herself. "And you've gone nearly 19 years without this, so, sorry for coming at you with both barrels, but we have a lot of time to make up for."

"You know," Lillian intoned. "Your mother also had a mouth on her."

"Joke's on you, lady," El replied. "I consider that a compliment.”

Lillian sighed in that put-upon way and closed her eyes. “If you don’t have anything productive to say, perhaps you’ll leave me in peace.”

El guffawed. “I’m sorry, do you not know how imprisonment works? This is at my leisure, and, I promise, I am quite content.”

“Oh, I bet you think you’re very funny, don’t you?” Lillian sneered.

“No, I’m hilarious.”

“Always a quip ready,” the woman went on. “Using humor to mask inadequacy. I’m sure that comes in handy fighting Ormanians and rescuing lost pets, but there are so many bigger things, little girl, and they are not impressed with your wit or your attempt to validate your existence through teenage imitation.” The woman leaned forward again, the condescending lip curl in full view. “So why don’t you run along and go back to hiding under mommy’s cape?”

El leaned further into the glass. “You want to be impressed, Nana, a demonstration can be arranged.”

“There it is again,” Lillian replied with a laugh. “My goodness, you are just telegraphing the self-image issues.”

El huffed and stepped back. “You know, another thing I learned from Mom was that bullies like to point out our flaws as a way to mask their own self-esteem issues.”

The woman seemed neither taken aback or impressed. “Touché,” she drawled. “But I was serious, if you don’t have anything productive to say, perhaps you should move along. I’m sure your handlers won’t be happy with you wasting everyone’s time.” She laid her head against the pillow and closed her eyes, really intent to ignore the young hero this time.

“Oh, Nana Lillian,” El laughed. “The only person whose time I’m wasting is yours.” She sat back in the chair with a self-satisfied look. “I’ve found this conversation most productive.”

“And what makes you say that?” The older woman asked, eyes still shut.

“You’ve been telling me so much.”

Lillian opened a single eye. She smirked. “Is that what you think?”

El smiled and nodded.

“Like what, pray tell?”

“Like the fact that you haven’t been in a coma for weeks or even days, like you told Superwoman, and you probably haven’t been stuck in the back of that truck for very long, either.”

Both eyes opened now. Lillian sat forward. “And what makes you think that?”

“Well,” El sighed and sat back. “I’ve only been Supergirl for like two weeks. Seems kind of odd you’d know about me.”

“I hear things,” the elder Luthor answered. “You haven’t exactly been quiet.”

“True,” El replied. “But I fought the Ormanian two days ago.” She stared back at Lillian. “How is it you know about that?”

Lillian was silent for some time, her mouth flat. Finally, she smirked again. “I’m impressed.”

“Oh, good, because your approval means the world to mean,” Supergirl said, hands clasped in front of her, voice dripping with sarcasm. She sat back in the chair again. “So, current theory: you were not a prisoner of Cadmus or, at least, not for as long as you want us to think.”

The woman was silent.

“You can play Silent Sally all you want, Nana,” the teen added, crossing one leg over the other and throwing her arms behind her head casually. “I got no place else to be.”

“Not bad,” Lillian replied cooly. “I was a prisoner, however, or, I should say, a detainee. They had me on house arrest, or the Cadmus version of it.”

“Well, nice to know Cadmus is smart enough to realize you can’t be allowed to run around,” and El smirked. “Without a handler.”

“Cadmus is not in the habit of eliminating assets they can still use,” added Lillian.”

“Ah,” El said. “You don’t run the show anymore, but they’ll still let you think you’re contributing.”

“Oh, I was, very much so.”

“But not for very much longer, you figure,” El noted sagely. “Even Cadmus has to know when someone’s just not worth the effort.”

“Perceptive,” Lillian replied with a nod. 

“Good news, then,” El added. “The DEO has no problem keeping you under lock and key forever.”

“I’m sure they can be more creative than that. I have a lot to offer, after all.”

El laughed. “Oh, so now we’re supposed to believe your little miss state’s evidence? Pull the other one, guv'nor, it’s got bells on!”

“Is that so surprising?” Lillian asked. “I mean, that is why I’m here, isn’t it?”

“You’re here because of a coordinated effort by the DEO, Superwoman, and, not to toot my own horn, some grade-A superpowering by yours truly.”

Lillian laughed loudly, and El was convinced immediately she hated it. 

“Is that what you believe?” Lillian said. “My dear, how do you think the DEO knew about the shipment at all?”

El’s brow furrowed. 

“I told them,” the woman added.

“Bullshit,” was the girl’s immediate reply. It was the only thing worth calling it. “How?”

“I have my ways,” Lillian answered. “Even under Cadmus’ watch. I built the place, after all. It was a simple matter to leak the information. The shipment itself was by my coordination. It is so much easier to obtain assets while they’re in transit, after all.”

“You set it up?”

Lillian shrugged. “I convinced Cadmus they could not continue to hold me where they had been.” She smiled back at the girl patronizingly. “Oh, come now, you’re smart enough to put it together. No one’s had so much as a lead on Cadmus in 20 years and you just happen to grab the most important asset they have? What did you think that was? Luck?”

El fumed but tried not to show it. She bit her lip, though, and knew she was giving it away. The woman kept smiling.

“So, you trade one set of shackles for another?” Supergirl asked quickly. “Why?”

“Well, it’s just like you said,” Lillian answered. “My long-term prospects are far more reliable with the DEO.”

El stood up, stepping towards the glass again. “I don’t buy it.”

“Self-preservation’s a powerful motivator, I can assure you.”

“Maybe, but there’s more. Lillian Luthor always has an angle, so what is it?”

Lillian considered the teen seriously. She smiled again. “You are good.” Then she grew quiet. She almost seemed serious, almost sincere, though the girl would never believe it. “There are other reasons.”

El stared for a minute. “Well, don’t keep us in suspense, Nana.”

The woman huffed dismissively. “I don’t expect you to understand.” She tilted her head. “You might if your Luthor blood wasn’t watered down with whatever pumps through Kryptonian veins.”

In the moment, El could picture Jeju making the woman pay for that line. For a moment, the teen was slightly offended. But she just laughed. “Lady, I got more Luthor in me than you ever will, and, right now, I have never been more glad we are not blood-related, because that just means there is zero chance I inherited even a gene from you.”

The woman only stared back. El let the smile fade as she considered the woman’s words. It finally hit her. She blew a breath out her nostrils.

“Well,” she said flatly. “You are going to be very disappointed.”

“Why’s that?” Lillian intoned.

“Because you are not going to get anywhere near Mom,” the teen answered, voice as solid as steel. “Ever again.”

“How the child protects the parent,” the white-haired noted. “I always wished Lena felt that way about me.”

El laughed and stepped back from the glass. “Who’s fault is that?” She said as she strode away. She waved. “Have fun rotting in jail, Nana! I’ll make sure to send you a card on mother’s day.”

* * *

When Supergirl stepped out of the heavy doors of the detention block, she was met by the DEO director. Alex gave her a stern glare.

“Are you proud of yourself?” The redhead asked.

El stared back. “Immensely,” she averred.

Alex smirked.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lillian's back, and there are so many questions. What does she want? Why is she here?  
> El's determined to find out.

It was funny how everything El had been looking forward to this summer: flying, fighting crime, all the superhero shenanigans, suddenly paled in comparison to the white-haired woman now sitting in DEO custody. Supergirl still got called for the small jobs, but every other moment on duty seemed to be occupied staring at the monitors of the isolation cell.

Maybe it was from some kind of macabre fascination. I mean, it was Lillian Luthor, Ms. Xenophobia herself. One couldn't help but wonder what it all might mean, having her here, having her not working for Cadmus anymore. If that was to be believed. Deep down, though, El knew there was a different reason she couldn't take her eyes off the woman, a protective streak she shared with her Jeju for a dark-haired woman they both cared deeply about.

It was silly. If anyone on the planet was capable of taking care of herself, it was Lena Luthor. If anyone knew what Lillian was capable of, who had graduated with top marks from the school of tough love and withheld approval the woman was emeritus professor of, it was her. But that was the real reason, wasn't it? When El looked at the old woman, seemingly harmless behind glass, she couldn't help but think of everything Lillian had done to the person she had called daughter and the teen now called "Mom", all the emotional abuse, the subtle dismissals, the years of deeply entrenched developmental trauma, and Supergirl couldn't help but want to wipe that smug look off the Luthor matriarch's face for everything she had ever done and failed to do for her adopted child.

"I thought I'd find you here," came a voice behind El, nearly startling her, focused vigilantly on watching Lillian in her cell.

The teen turned to find the very same, dark-haired woman she had been worrying about standing behind her, hand on one hip in that way that instantly called to the girl's inner child and made her quickly go through the last 24 hours to figure out what she had done wrong.

Mom only pointed to the monitors. "Alex says you're obsessed."

El's head darted between the woman and the screen, oscillating between surprise and that inner feeling of needing to explain herself to a parent. She finally settled on annoyance and spun to Alex. "I'm not obsessed!"

The DEO director didn't even bother looking up from her tablet, only gave a sarcastic thumbs up.

"What you are is late for dinner?" Lena added.

Ah, yes, that's what she was supposed to feel guilty about. El's eyes drifted to the time. She looked back at Mom, searching the mental rolodex for a proper excuse.

"I was going to patrol a bit," she offered.

Mom nodded in that way that told you she didn't by that for one second. "I don't think so, young lady."

El's mouth opened a bit. Her brain spun for another excuse. "But... uh... crime?" was all it came up with.

Mom nodded again. "I think the city can do without you for an evening. I haven't seen you in nearly 48 hours."

That El thought she could come up with a suitable rebuttal for. "I distinctly remember showing up for pancakes this morning."

"Which you wolfed down at a rate that would concern even your Jeju," Mom replied immediately. "Right before flying out the window." And without allowing the girl a rejoinder, she looped her arm in hers and began dragging the teen away from the monitors. "Come on. It's home for you."

El sputtered a bit, but, even with super strength, she knew she was beaten. She satisfied herself with a pleading glance at Alex, who could only smirk back.

"You'll call if something comes up, right?" the teen asked.

And to her unmitigated shock, the DEO director glanced at Lena before replying. The dark-haired woman nodded.

"Only if it's very important," Lena said.

"Only if it's very important," Alex repeated.

El was defeated but would not go down without a fight. "Especially if you-know-who, you know?" she added desperately, waving at the monitor.

"I'll let you know if Nana Lillian says anything," Alex said.

And with another tug from Mom, El followed dutifully. Only for Lena to stop suddenly, mid-step. She turned, half-worried, half-confused towards her daughter.

"Nana Lillian?" she asked.

El's eyes drifted to all corners of the room in that desperate, childish way to avoid admitting what she had so obviously been caught in. Alex, however, was perfectly willing to rat her out.

"Oh, that's the super mature name your daughter has chosen for our newest prisoner," the redhead said with a deep smirk.

Lena's brow furrowed in maternal disappointment. "Oh, El, that's so petty," she said, right before kissing her daughter's cheek and adding, in a whisper, "I love it."

* * *

El let herself be dragged back to the apartment, on the condition that she got to fly her and Mom there, which Lena hesitantly agreed, if only to get there sooner. Jeju arrived from work not long after, and the Danvers-Luthor clan actually sat down for a family meal for the first time in a period Lena was only too happy to remind them all of.

It ended up being a quiet supper. Not that there wasn't much to talk about, of course. Only that what there was paled in comparison to what 2 of the 3 people at the table were absolutely set against mentioning at all. They were halfway through the entree when Lena dropped her fork noisily to her plate.

"All right," she said after a full minute of silence. "That's enough out of you two." She looked at the two most important people in her life, a blonde and a brunette, both of who looked back at her, all innocence.

"Lena, we haven't said anything," Kara replied.

"Oh, I know," her wife answered. "You both haven't. Very loudly." She motioned between them. "If I see one more furtive glance between the two of you, I swear, dessert's cancelled."

El and Kara exchanged guilty looks.

"I am not a child," Lena went on. "I do not need either of you to protect me, and I certainly don't need you to walk on eggshells around me. We all know the elephant in the room. I do not have a problem if you want to talk about her."

Jeju and daughter exchanged another look. Kara sighed.

"It's just surprising, that's all," she said.

"That's all it is," Lena replied, picking up her fork again. "I cut Lillian out of my life eons ago. She can't hurt me. She can't affect me." She looked between the two other occupants at the table, neither of whom seemed terribly convinced. "I swear. Honestly, the two of you seem more obsessed with her than anyone."

That, both Supers had to admit, was probably valid. The woman had been far more obviously on their minds than on anyone's, certainly not the woman sitting across the table from them.

"But," El tried. "Don't you..." And she searched for the right phrasing. "Kind of want to kick her ass?"

The look Lena gave her daughter told the girl she should have searched harder. It might have more of an impact if Kara hadn't looked like she wanted that question answered, too.

"No," Lena said out loud. "I don't want to kick her ass. I don't need to."

"Do you mind if we do?" El asked, and before Mom could voice her continued disappointment, the teen added, "I thought Jeju could hold her down, and I could punch."

"Why do you get to hit her?" Kara asked, offended.

"Well, we'd take turns, Jeju."

"Like I said!" Lena cut in before they could continue. She pointed an accusatory fork between the pair. "You two seem much more disturbed by this than me." And she went back to eating.

Kara snaked a hand to grab her wife's. Lena looked up into blue, loving eyes.

"Aren't you the least bit curious?" the blonde asked.

Lena let herself sigh. "Only as curious as I would be if anyone else I had long thought gone suddenly reappeared," she assured them.

Kara squeezed her hand, content. But El had to ask.

"Do you believe her?" The teen watched as her parents turned to her. "What she said? About family?"

Mom looked away for a moment. "I believe she believes, or she might, if this isn't some convoluted plan." She forked her food in thought for a moment. She looked back up to find her daughter with a questioning gaze. "'Family' is a word Lillian defines for herself. It serves her purposes when she needs it to.”

* * *

Mom knew what she was talking about. If anyone could properly describe all the facets of Lillian's ego, it would be her. Maybe that's why she really didn't seem affected by the Luthor matriarch's reappearance, and, while Jeju and El certainly believed her, that didn't convince either of them to drop their guard, each perfectly content if the white-haired woman went back to whatever hole she had crawled out of and each ready, willing, and able to shove her back in should the need or arise, if she so much as mentioned Lena by name.

Still, El couldn't conceal her curiosity, that morbid fascination, as to what the woman was doing here, if this wasn't just another game she was playing, as she had so many times before, or if this was something else, if, like Mom suggested, she actually believed the things she said.

It was less than a day before Supergirl decided to press the issue.

"Ah, so the Sass Patrol has returned," Lillian drawled as El stepped into view. The woman's condition was stable. She was actually out of bed, lounging in a chair behind the glass with a book in her lap. "Is it more pet names today or are we actually going to talk like adults?"

"Well, Nana Lillian," El replied. "That all depends on you, doesn't it?"

Lillian smiled flatly. "I see your attitude has not improved."

"Well, it's only been like 3 days," El answered as she pulled a chair over. "By the way, I see you got the book." The girl motioned to the woman's lap.

Lillian lifted it with a scowl. "Yes," she deadpanned. "'Parenting for Dummies.' How droll."

"I figured better late than never." El smiled.

Lillian tossed the book onto the bed. "If you're going to lean on humor so desperately, you might at least put some effort into it."

"Oh, I wouldn't waste my A-material on you, Nana."

The woman only scowled deeper. "I've endured tortures you couldn't imagine," she said. "So if this is some vain attempt to crack my psyche through sheer inanity, I'll go ahead and tell you not to waste your time."

"Not torture," El said. "But I think it is time you start talking."

Lillian gave her a critical look before throwing her head back in a laugh. "Well, since you asked so nicely." She scowled again. "Run along, now. Leave the work to the professionals."

"What makes you think you warrant the professionals?" El fired back immediately.

Lillian was unfazed. "You have no idea who you are messing with, do you?" She laughed. "I was shaping the world before you were a genetic sample growing in a petri dish."

Supergirl knew better than to be aggravated so easily, but El couldn't help but clinch her fists. She swallowed the fury down.

"What?" she said. "You mean the string of failed attempts to enact your alien final solution? Or were you referring to Luthor Corp, which your son drove into the ground pursuing the same xenophobic dreams and then your adopted daughter wrestled away right out from under your nose? Because I've heard all about both of those things, and I can't say I'm impressed."

"Ever the jibe," Lillian drawled. She sat back, folding her hands in her lap. She eyed the girl now, seriously, critically. "It must be hard, living in the shadow of so many great people."

El scoffed. "Wow, is this the famous Lillian Luthor dressing down? Great job identifying the self-esteem issue so secret I did a video interview about it."

"So much potential," Lillian continued. "I mean intellectually, socially, economically, genetically. From day one, here you are, the promised child, the product of the union of genius and power. That would give anyone a complex."

El pretended to yawn in response.

"But the worst of it is," the woman went on. "Deep down, even with your powers, you just can't shake the feeling that it's not enough, because, deep down, you know you're not enough, and it doesn't matter how nice everyone is, how kind and supportive, because you know. You know you're never going to measure up. Because no matter what you do, no matter how far you go, someone else will have already been there first."

El stared back. "Is that all you got?"

In answer, Lillian stood and stepped to the glass. "Go ahead. Deny it. Fight it with everything you have. Say it doesn't matter. I'm a liar. I'm a bitter, old woman. Because I can already see it, the little grain of truth buried in your head, the one you keep trying to look away from, the one you are constantly trying to prove wrong. The one that says all their talk, all their praise is just to make you feel better because, deep down, they know it's true, too."

The chair clattered back to the floor with the force of El standing up from it. Lillian smiled, and Supergirl had never wanted to wipe it off her face more.

"You don't know anything," she growled between her teeth.

"I know if they really loved you," the white-haired woman answered. "They would tell you the truth."

"You don't know anything!" El screamed. "My family loves me! My family tells me the truth. Jeju, Mom tells me the truth."

"And what truth is that?" Lillian asked. "That you're special? That all you need is love to change the world?" She sighed. "It's sad, really. You do have tremendous potential, but that's nothing without the drive to achieve it. That's what I gave your mother, and I'm so sorry she didn't have the courage to give it to you."

"You didn't give her anything."

"I gave her everything," Lillian replied. "I molded her into the woman she is."

El looked away. Her heart was beating in her ears, and, despite Kryptonian genetics, she was nearly hyperventilating. The woman was just so smug, and it would be so easy to wipe it away, but, El knew, she'd still be smug even if the girl did. In the end, Mom was right, it wouldn't make a difference if you did kick her ass. You couldn't fight her. Maybe that was the point.

"Is that what you think family is?" El asked.

Lillian raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Mom was right," the girl went on. "You don't know the meaning of the word."

"I know more than you ever will."

El shook her head. "No. To you it's just a business. People are assets, relationships are acquisitions, everything's a competition. That's not family." The teen looked into the woman's eyes. "I'm glad you're not my Nana. You don't deserve to be."

The woman laughed derisively. "Because I don't fit your idea of one? And where exactly did you get that? Television?"

"Nice try, Lillian," El countered. "But I have a grandmother, and she makes latkes during the holidays and cookies for your birthday, and she gives the warmest hugs on the planet. You don't hold a candle to her. And you don't hold a candle to either of my mothers. I see it now, what Mom meant. You don't know the first thing about being a parent." She gestured to the bed. "Enjoy the book. Turns out you really need it."

"Is that it?" Lilian asked as the hero walked away.

"Pretty much," El called back. She looked over her shoulder. "Enjoy your prison. With that attitude, you're going to be alone for a long time."

"But we were just getting started," added the woman. "Aren't you the least bit interested in what I might know?"

El stopped. "What? Your secret Cadmus intel?" she asked without turning around. "You can keep it. Even if you were being cooperative, which you're not, I'm not sure it's worth it."

"You'd be wrong."

Supergirl only shrugged. "So what?"

"What if I was cooperative?"

El stopped and spun, slowly, on her heels. "You honestly expect me to believe that? What? You had a sudden change of heart in the last minute-and-a-half?"

Lillian only stared back. She stepped back from the glass and picked up the book. "You were right, you know," she said. "I do treat relationships like a business, but there's a lot to be learned from that mindset."

"Like manipulation?" El asked. "Not interested."

"Like bargaining," the woman corrected. "I have something you want."

El threw her arms to either side. "I'm all ears."

Lillian shook her head. "No, I have something you want, you need to give me something I want."

El looked around the room for a moment. "I'm sorry, are we operating under the assumption that you have power right now? Because I don't know if you noticed, but you're the one behind glass."

The Luthor matriarch smirked. "It would appear that way, wouldn't it? But the worst mistake you can make, in life and business, is to act like you have no power." She eyed the girl. "I have something you want."

El glared back. "And what do you want?"

"To see my daughter."

El laughed, once, for effect. "Pick something else, because you're never getting that."

"Isn't that for her to decide?"

"You assume she actually wants to see you? Wow, you are out of touch."

"You would sacrifice everything I might offer just to protect her?"

El stepped back towards the cell. She picked up the chair off the floor and set it on its legs. "Yes," she said smoothly, strongly. "And you want to know why? Because she'd do the exact same for me. Because that's what family means. That's what love means." She stared down the woman and willed her to believe it or, if not, to realize the teen was just as fine with her choking on the truth.

Lillian leaned against the bed with a sigh. "You might be right."

That one caught Supergirl off guard. It was the most sincere she had seen the woman yet. Gone, for the moment, was the massive ego, the put-upon nature, the arrogance. For a second, El wondered if she was seeing the real person underneath all the personality.

"You won't understand until you're older," Lillian said quietly. "The young are not yet convinced they aren't immortal." She suddenly fixed the teen with a gaze. "With that Kryptonian DNA," she laughed. "You just might be. But when you're my age, maybe when time has at last rendered you frail, you may just realize there are things worse that death."

"Like what?" El asked.

"Being alone," she replied, her voice cracking. "I don't expect you to trust me." The smirk came back, for all of a second. "I don't expect you to like me. But believe this, believe that I would give you what you want to see my daughter one more time. For her, I would give up everything I have created."

El stepped forward, shoulders set like steel. "You honestly think I'll believe that?"

"Look at me," Lillian insisted. "I'm an old woman. My son and husband are gone. My company, all my accomplishments, forgotten. Even Cadmus, the thing I built with my own hands, has turned its back on me. Lena is the only thing I have left."

El looked the woman over, expecting to find something of the old Lillian peeking out, but all she saw was this, all she was met with was regret.

"You expect her to forgive you?" she had to ask.

The woman shook her head. "Oh, child, I know she won't. All I want to do is talk."

El stepped forward, up to the glass now. She stared as hard as she could. "You look me in the eyes and tell me."

After a moment, the woman stepped forward, looking down at Supergirl. She met her eyes. El let them glow, just a bit, as a reminder.

"I want to see my daughter," Lillian said. "Just once. Give me that, and I'll tell you everything you want to know."


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena and Lillian in the same room once more. How could this end well?

"I believe her," said El. She watched all eyes at the table slowly turn to her in disbelief. Kara's most of all; hers were bordering on betrayal. The teen threw her hands up. "I'm not saying let her out or trust her or do anything but keep her locked away for the rest of time. I'm just saying I think she's telling the truth." She looked around the table again and felt the need to further clarify. "At least about this one thing."

The adults stared at the young hero for a while in silence. It was getting to the point where El was ready to retract the entire statement. Finally, Alex sighed.

"I'm inclined to agree," the redhead said.

Kara's judgmental gaze swung to her sister, who took it with a practiced look of her own.

"Lillian knows something," the DEO director continued. "Probably a lot of somethings, and it's a sure bet some of it might be useful."

"There's a lot of 'ifs' behind that," Kara was quick to point out.

"True," Alex agreed. "But it might be worth the risk.” Alex nodded. “If it gets her talking."

"So what?" Superwoman nearly yelled. "So she starts talking and starts spewing lies, like she always does. How is it going to help anyone? I say let her rot in her loneliness. She has no one to blame but herself."

"Jeju," El tried.

"No, little one," came the quick, but gentle reply. "I appreciate you trying, but you do not know this woman like we do. She cannot be trusted."

"I'm not saying trust her," Supergirl said. "We'll verify any intel, but first-"

"First we have to subject your Mom to that?" Kara said, her voice more tense and stern than the girl had heard in a long time.

El looked down. “Of course I don't want Mom to get hurt," she said, sorry.

“Then the best thing is to make sure that woman never comes near her or vice versa," Kara said. "It's not worth it."

"Does anyone want to know my opinion on the matter?" Lena's voice cut in.

Both Kara and El met the woman's gaze, then quickly looked down, ashamed. The dark-haired woman had been viewing the whole debate in silence since it started. Now, she turned to her wife.

“El’s right,” she said. Kara’s mouth opened. Lena raised a hand towards her. “So is Alex. Lillian knows something. That’s not an ‘if’. She definitely does, and if this is what helps us learn what that is, I’m willing to try.”

“Lena, you do not…” Kara replied, wilting quickly under the woman’s firm but loving gaze. The blonde glanced at her daughter in parental prodding.

“Mom,” El dutifully added. “If you don’t want to-“

Lena crossed around the hub’s central table and ran a hand across her daughter’s shoulders. She placed a kiss on her head.

“I appreciate my girls looking out for me,” Lena said before continuing around the circumference to wrap her arms around Kara’s waist. “Both of them,” she added with a gentle nuzzle to the blonde’s neck. “But I’m okay. I told you, Lillian can’t hurt me. If she wants a conversation, I can give that to her.”

Superwoman’s arms encircled her wife. “She doesn’t deserve you.”

Lena smiled. “On that we agree.”

El watched her parents kiss, thankful, to a factor of a million, at how much better she had it off than possibly anyone else that ever sported the last name Luthor. Lena finally turned to Alex.

“Set it up,” she said.

“We can wait,” the redhead offered sympathetically. “If you need time.”

“Don’t you start, too,” Lena pointed. “The sooner, the better.”

* * *

Lillian stood when the woman entered the hall in front of the isolation cell. She let the book tumble from her lap to clatter to the floor, unminded. The white-haired woman rose to her feet as her daughter, the closest thing she ever had to one, approached the glass.

Lena stared for a full minute. It could have been for effect. It would certainly be very “Luthor” of her, in much the way the woman behind the glass had taught her. Establish dominance from the beginning, make them wait, remind them who holds the power. But, really, the dark-haired woman had to stare at the woman she had, at one time, for complicated reasons, called “Mother”. She looked so much older, here, face-to-face, the lines deeper, the body more frail, the age more pronounced, but, underneath it, she thought she could spy the predator, still lurking.

“Hello, Lena,” the woman said.

“Lillian,” Lena replied.

“It’s good to see you.”

Lena nodded. “And now you’ve seen me,” she pointed. “Satisfied?”

Lena half-braced for the quick, and bitter, retort, the viper’s snap back. It was a childish compulsion she couldn’t quite suppress. But it never came. The woman only, surprisingly, sighed.

“I thought we could talk,” she said. She motioned to a chair nearby as she took the one in her cell.

Lena considered the seat but turned back forward. “About what, Lillian? It’s been some 20 years. I really don’t think we have the time. Even if, I do not have the inclination.”

Lillian sighed again, running hands over her knees in thought. She looked around for a thread of conversation. “I must say, I have been keeping tabs. L-Corp is certainly a masterpiece. You’ve changed the world. Now no one can ever forget the name ‘Luthor’.

“Yes,” Lena agreed. “They’ll remember it for innovation and charity and humanity. Not hate and fear. They’ll remember it for me. Not for you.”

“I suppose I deserve that.”

Lena laughed, short and bitter. “Oh my,” she commented. “I had almost not expected it, but there it is. Feigning remorse as a means to buy pity, to shift power in your direction. A classic tactic. One, I’ll admit, I never thought I’d see you use.”

“I’m only trying to make amends, Lena,” Lillian responded with a shake of her head.

“And there it is again. My, you are very good at that. It’s a wonder when you’ve had any time to practice.”

Lillian’s chin stuttered for a moment in some kind of genuine show of hurt. Through the monitors, even El had to take a step back from it. The next moment, it faded. A sly, subdued smile took its place. Lillian sat back and crossed her arms.

“I taught you well,” she intoned. “I was hoping domestic life hadn’t made you too soft.”

Lena huffed. “How little you understand domesticity,” she said. “If you think having a family would make me softer.”

“Only, with all the pet names and pancake breakfasts,” Lillian replied with obvious derision. “I was afraid you might have lost your edge.”

Lena laughed dryly once more.

“You own a cat, Lena,” Lillian pointed out. “We’re hardly cat people.”

“Oh, but I am,” said Lena with confidence. “I am very much a cat person. And a pancake person. And a make my family dinner because I want to person.”

“You say all of that like they’re accomplishments.”

Lena laughed again, for real this time. “You know, I always suspected,” she said, chuckling to herself. “In that teenage fantasy way, where you think the world might just be as simple as you hope, that things like love and empathy really exist, that you might meet someone who really cares about you in a true way, with no attachment or agenda.” She pointed at Lillian. “I thought you were the problem, that you didn’t get it. I hoped that all your talk, all your pessimistic realism, was the delusion, and that maybe the world could be decent. I thought that once, before you beat it out of me, before life tried to rob it off me entirely. It took me years and the best people I have ever known to win it back, but now I am sure. And, I have to tell you, it is so nice to be proven right. Because I have a family. I have a wife and child and I see that you didn’t know the first thing about any of it. You, Lillian Luthor, were the one who just didn’t get it.”

The woman scowled in that natural way of hers. “I did my best.”

“That’s the thing of it,” Lena laughed again. “I really think you did, and, trust me, there’s decades of therapy that’s taken to get me there. I really think you did try your best. The problem was: your best was horrible. You just could never admit it.”

Lillian sat back, rebuffed, but her face told you she was not defeated. She had not even begun to fight.

“Well, if we’re going to compete on the parenting front,” she said, finally, and pointed towards the door. “Let’s talk about the little girl in the dress-me-up cape.”

“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” Lena replied.

Lillian’s hands went up in defense. “Don’t misunderstand,” she said. “I am really quite impressed. Your eyes, your mouth, and, obviously, your brains. You must be proud.”

“I am.”

“You should be.”

Lena smirked sarcastically. “You’ll forgive me for doubting the sincerity that. Only I heard you call her ‘mongrel’ not a few days ago.”

The woman shrugged. “A slip of the tongue. What can I say? I was coming out of a coma.”

“Is that what you call the last…” Lena asked and counted idly on her fingers for a moment. “40 years? Because I would just call it being a raging, egomaniacal bitch.”

Lillian’s hands clapped together. “And there it is,” she cheered mockingly. “Always relying on the insult. Always succumbing to base emotionality. Wielding it like a cudgel. We are sword people, Lena. The turn of a finely honed argument. Not raw reaction.”

Lena stared back at the woman. “You fight your way. I fight mine.” Still, she took a deep, calming breath, aware how her arms had crossed themselves, much the mirror of the prisoner on the other side of the glass. “I thought you wanted to talk.”

“Aren’t we?” Lillian asked. “Isn’t this par for the course? Does this not ring of so many family dinners?”

“Family debates, you mean,” Lena quickly pointed out. “‘Dinner’ is far too mild a word.” She sneered. “Far too ‘domestic.’”

“Don’t tell me your mad because I never baked you scones?”

That nearly sent the dark-haired woman rounding on the Luthor matriarch with a surprising flare of rage. But Lena calmed, ashamed as well as annoyed that the woman could still find the soft spot and so quickly.

“You don’t know how to bake scones,” she replied instead, swallowing the invectives that even now burned on her tongue. “I do.”

And the older woman actually sighed. “I had so many higher aspirations for you.”

“Well, disappointing you was also my favorite past time,” said Lena. “It’s nice to know I’m not out of practice.”

“You could have been so much more. You could have had so much more.”

“You have no idea what I have,” Lena replied, voice set like stone. They were past raw emotionality, past even well-crafted rejoinders. They had found their way to truth. “What I have does not compare to what you dreamed for me, if you dreamed at all, if my potential wasn’t just another way to make yourself bigger. What I have puts even the purest of them to shame.”

Lillian stared back, quiet for a moment. Then she shook her head. “Poetry,” she said, and the word was as dismissive as you could imagine. “How reminiscent of all your failures. Too much the dreamer yourself. It’s a vulnerability. One you cannot afford, but that has always been your problem, hasn’t it?”

“No, Lillian,” Lena quickly and soundly answered her. “The problem is you equate ‘soft’ with ‘weak’. Well, let me correct that misunderstanding.” She stepped to the glass fully now. “There is a version of reality where I killed my own brother to stop him from hurting the people I care about, from hurting Kara.” And that word was spoken simply and solidly. “And that is before I knew who she really was. Now, I’m married to her, and you can be sure my conviction towards protecting her has not diminished in the slightest.”

Lillian rose from her seat, stepping to the glass, as well, using their slight height difference to tower over Lena. “Is that a threat?” She asked with a smirk.

“No, it’s a truth,” replied Lena. “And it’s not what you really need to worry about. Because I also have a daughter, and, where you may never have even approached what one may call a ‘caring’ one, I take being a mother very seriously. If I would kill for Kara, you do not want to see what I would do if you so much as make that girl cry. And I promise, Mother, I will not feel an ounce of remorse when I do.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Armed with intel from Lillian, Superwoman and Supergirl set out to nab a major Cadmus base. But can their intel be trusted and is Supergirl ready for her second mission against Cadmus?

"Okay," Alex started. "Based on the intel Lillian provided, we know have the location for a major Cadmus base."

"Assuming we can trust anything that comes out of her mouth," Kara was quick to add. While supportive of her wife's decision, she had not exactly been quiet about her objections to the entire ordeal.

"Assuming, yes," Alex agreed. "Either way, she's provided us with some solid information." She gave her sister a look. "Information we'd have to act on either way."

Superwoman sighed but nodded.

The DEO director swept a hand across the hub's central table. A holographic landscape rose from the black, glassy surface, terrain lines gridded in dark green. A mountain grew out of the grid. A green circle appeared above its peak.

"This is our target," said Alex, motioning to the image. "There's an underground bunker hidden in this mountain. Satellite scans have given us nothing, so it must be fairly deep in the rock. This location also happens to be in the general direction Lillian's convoy was headed when we captured her, so that gives some credence to her story."

Jeju huffed at the word 'credence'. El watched her, arms crossed in that way of hers. The teen had to wonder if that wasn't a little her doing. Jeju, naturally, would never blame her, but hadn't El been the one to put her support behind this plan, what little influence she had at least? She turned back to the table and watched the mountain spin.

"So what's our approach?" she asked and watched two sets of eyes, aunt's and Jeju's, turn to her. She tried to look confidently back. "I mean, we're not sending Jeju in alone, are we?"

There was the tiniest reaction from the blonde, but she shoved it down and flexed her arms tighter. She looked at Alex.

"We'll go in hard and fast," the redhead said as clicked a control on her tablet. Twin, red lines swooped out of the periphery of the display, flying towards the mountain. "Superwoman will come in low. We've identified what we think might be an entrance."

"Jeju's got the front door," El said and tried not to look too happy when she asked, "What's that leave me?"

"Supergirl will come in high," Alex replied. The girl in question watched her arrow come down on the mountain from up top. She allowed herself a grin. "The two of you will soften them up so our strike teams can come in to secure the facility."

"Understood," Supergirl replied, trying to look, or at least sound, serious.

Alex clicked another control. The mountain lowered and dissolved, replaced by a blue-framed, rectangular prism.

"This is our target," the DEO director continued. "The bunker's central server. According to our source, it's a Q-CPU."

El had to whistle at that. "Quantum computing. Cadmus has got the nice hardware."

"It would also provide us all the information we would need to completely root them out," Alex commented. She cast an eye towards Kara. "If it's to be believed."

If, indeed. Regardless, they had to try. It could be legit, or it could just as easily be a trap, the endgame in a convoluted, Lillian Luthor plot. They could catch their targets completely off-guard, or there could be an army of kryptonite-fueled murder bots waiting for them. Either way, they had to go. Thankfully, they had two Supers to face down whatever they found.

* * *

Once again, Supergirl found herself floating in the cold, night air, slightly more anxious than she was the last time. Still, this was, now, her second, major, DEO mission, and, considering how well the last one went, she allowed herself the briefest confidence. In any case, it promised to be interesting, if not a little fun.

"We're getting close," her aunt's voice sounded in her ear.

"Copy," the teen replied and spun in place, turning down to face the earth below and the ridge of rock pointing up at her. She breathed. She waited.

"Go," called Alex.

Supergirl plummeted, flying faster and faster towards the ground. The cone of water vapor formed and then swept past her as she broke the sound barrier, closing in at blinding speed. At last, she struck the rocky, mountain side and plunged into the dirt and stone.

They would have heard that. The teen wondered, for a moment, how they might react, but it didn't matter. They wouldn't have time to.

Supergirl plunged headlong, the dirt suddenly giving way to metal and then an opening. She stopped as she landed on a cold, concrete floor, the cement buckling underneath her fierce landing. She looked up as the dust settled. She had drilled into some kind of barracks. Bunks lined the walls, filled with very startled, and soon to be very pissed off, Cadmus agents. El smiled as the men collected themselves from sleep and shock.

"Hi!" she couldn't help but say.

The nearest to her leapt out of his bunk. He was met by a hand in his chest as Supergirl caught him and pushed him back into bed.

"Oh, don't get up on my account," the girl replied, turning and shoving another back into a half-dozen of his buddies, all scrambling toward her.

One reached under his bunk and produced a metal rod. He flicked his wrist and it sprang to electric life. Shock sticks, the girl rolled her eyes. Still, he swung, and his weapon found purchase on one of his comrades as the hero deftly parried it away.

El made quick work of the barracks, stepping out of the door with a good 20 groaning, prone bodies behind her. She closed the door gingerly, only to hear the alarm start to blare.

"Well," she commented. "No need to be stealthy then." Then she turned and sped down the hallway. She burst through three heavy doors with super speed, until she finally met resistance at the fourth. Two guards, heavily armored, with mean-looking rifles. El dodged as one swung at her, the other lining up a shot that she managed to flip away from. A green-tinted ball of energy sizzled into the far wall.

"And here I was afraid you all hadn't prepared for us," Supergirl chuckled.

The gun was trained on her again. El ducked rolled and popped up quickly underneath it, laying a hand to the barrel and shoving it up and back to clock its holder in the helmet. She spun the rifle and flung its owner into his partner. Their bodies collided. The second guard tried to recover, only for his legs to be swept out from under him as Supergirl rapidly crossed the space between them. She laid a final blow that dropped the pair of them to the ground in a moaning heap, before she sped off.

She was making quick work of clearing the base, such that the teen was starting to wonder if she was missing something or if she was just that good. She turned a corner and quickly figured out it was the former as she was met by a double line of men, one kneeling in front of the other, rifles at the ready and pointed straight at her.

El had no time to react. Thankfully, they had less. A blast, like a great wind, suddenly exploded behind them, knocking everyone, to a man, to the ground. Supergirl looked past the line to see Superwoman standing there, her hands clapped in front of her. The soldiers began to stumble to their feet. They were met by a Super sandwich.

"Front door give you any trouble?" El asked as she stared over the pile of unconscious Cadmus agents.

"Not too much, little one" Jeju replied. "Are you okay?"

The teen shrugged easily. "With these goons? No problem."

"Well, we're not done yet," Kara added, and, in confirmation, they heard the sound of rending metal and turned towards one end of the corridor.

A leg emerged, long, metallic, and capped with a vicious claw. Three others joined it as they pulled a steel, armored body around the corner. A single, red eye on a segmented stalk turned towards them with a menacing glow. An equally menacing, green light from its chest seemed to pulse.

"Ah!" Supergirl said with a smirk. "And here I didn't think there'd be any murder-bots.”

* * *

A DEO strike team made their way into the bunker some minutes later, following a nice trail of rent metal and incapacitated guards left by Superwoman. They were met by the Super duo a minute later. Alex dismissed the team to further secure the base as she stepped towards Kara.

"All good?" the redhead asked.

Kara nodded. "Had a little trouble with a robotic toy of Cadmus's, but no problems."

Alex glanced at El, who had an annoyed look on her face. "You okay?" the woman asked.

"Damn thing got grease all over my suit," the teen grumbled.

"Well, black doesn't show stains," her aunt said with a sly grin. "So there's that." She looked seriously again at Kara. "We get what we came for?"

Kara nodded and motioned to Supergirl who held up a box resembling a computer tower but with a bright blue circle of light spinning on the side.

"Perfect," Alex replied. "I'll get Brainy working right on it." She took the Q-CPU out of the teen's hands and turned to the door. She stopped for a moment, turned back, and looked the girl in the eye. "Good job," she said.

El smiled.

* * *

El took a shower at the DEO, confident Mom would not enjoy her trudging through the apartment covered in machine fluids. She donned her street clothes and was just about to take a leap out the first window she could find, heading for home, when an idea occurred to her. She headed down to the detention level.

The teen found the white-haired Luthor in her cell, thumbing through a book. The woman didn't bother acknowledging the girl as she entered.

"Come to gloat?" Lillian asked as Supergirl neared the glass. She glanced at El. "I assume your little operation was a success."

"It was," El replied. "But, no, I'm not here to gloat."

Lillian huffed at this. El suppressed the ubiquitous desire to slap her. She was here for more mature reasons, after all. What was it Mom said about being the bigger person?

"I wanted to say, 'thank you,'" the girl added. That seemed to catch the Luthor matriarch's attention. "We'll be able to do a lot of good with what we found. We wouldn't have been able to do that without your help."

"No, you wouldn't," came the response.

El allowed her own self a huff. It figured. What exactly had she expected? Still she'd said what she came to say, and she felt not a little proud about it. The teen turned back to the door.

"Nice to know your mother taught you manners," Lillian called after her.

El stopped. Maturity was one thing, but it was still Nana Lillian. "Yeah," she said with a smile. "Don't think she learned that from you."


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They have the Cadmus computer now, but is it a boon or a Trojan horse? And will Supergirl be enough to stop what's about to happen?

Another day, another dull afternoon at the DEO. El hadn't certainly proved her capabilities the last few days, and, although no one had openly said so, she was allowing herself to take some of the credit for getting Lillian Luthor to cough up the goods. Okay, granted, a lot of that was Mom, but she helped, by annoying the woman interminably, in nothing else. Yet Alex was still sending her out for minor issues only. There hadn't been a lot of major issues in National City recently, at least compared with Cadmus, but El had the sinking feeling she was still on a leash. So she busied herself with what minor problems there were and spending the remainder of her time dropping by the labs. Querl was hard at work decoding the Q-CPU. Cadmus had, unsurprisingly, a fair amount of encryption laced into the thing. It was slow going, but, if anyone could crack it, Brainy could. Supergirl was just about to head down there, having finished an uneventful patrol of the city, when she caught sight of blue and red in the hub.

"What are you doing here?" she asked as she approached the blonde currently looking over the monitors. "Alex said I was patrolling alone."

"Just thought I'd drop by," Jeju replied. She threw an arm around her daughter. "Had a slow day at work. How're things here?"

"Even slower," El said with not a little annoyance. She stared up at Superwoman, a thought occurring to her. "You should probably head home. Mom's there by now. I got this covered."

Kara looked back with a worried expression. "Am I that overbearing?"

"No!" the teen was quick to reply. "I'm just saying, it's a little overkill to have 2 Supers patrolling the city right now."

"It seems to work pretty well for Metropolis."

"That's because Clark can be overbearing." El motioned between her Jeju and herself. "I like to think we have a nice, working relationship."

Kara chuckled but her brow still furrowed in that concerned way. "Little one, if you think I'm trying to, I don't know, micromanage you-"

"No, no," El replied with a shake of her head. She threw a thumb towards one end of the room. "That's what Alex does."

"I heard that," came the immediate response, illustrating that, while the DEO director might not have super hearing, she could still heard pretty damn well.

Kara laughed but looked back at her daughter. "Come on," she said with a squeeze to the girl's shoulders. "It'll be fun. How often do we just get to fly around together?"

"And how often do you and Mom get an afternoon all to yourselves?"

Kara stared. El waggled her eyebrows in a knowing way.

"You're the best damn kid on the planet," Jeju said. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"You," El replied. "Repeatedly, but feel free to continue."

The blonde pressed a kiss to her daughter's temple and squeezed her tight.

"If you need anything," Kara said as she stepped towards the balcony.

"Go," the teen insisted.

"I mean it," Jeju replied. "If something goes down-"

"GO!"

And with a last smile, Superwoman took to the skies. Supergirl tuned her hearing for a heartbeat she had quickly memorized in her training. She heard it flutter a moment later as soft boots alighted on the balcony.

"You're home early."

"I am."

"I thought you were patrolling."

"I was going to, but El thought we could use some _alone_ time."

"Did she now?"

Soft lips met, arms hugged.

"We have a pretty great kid."

"We do. Remind me to thank her for the consideration." 

"Later?"

"Much later."

El quickly tuned out but smiled, allowing herself not a little pride. Life could be tough, especially theirs. It was nice to know the two most important people in her life got to be together because of her.

She headed down to the labs.

* * *

She found Brainy hard at work, at least for him. Lines of code swung around the room in a holographic light show while the Coluan stood, motionless, in the eye of the computational hurricane. El just watched for a while, knowing better than to interrupt the living computer when he was so, clearly, fully engaged.

Soon enough, the numbers dropped away, and Brainy breathed, possibly for the first time in a considerable amount of time. He turned and finally acknowledged Supergirl.

"Any progress?" the teen asked.

"Some," Querl replied, which prompted an eyebrow from El. The tone, if not the vocabulary, indicated this was a considerable task, even for Brainy.

Supergirl stepped towards the item in question. The Q-CPU sat, rather innocuously, in the middle of the room, the circle on the side slowly cycling.

"Cadmus must have some tough encryption."

"Indeed," Brainy said, and the tone was even more pronounced this time. "It's not often I meet a system that presents such a... challenge. The algorithms are not only extensive but adaptive."

"If anyone can crack this nut," the teen commented with a sly grin.

"Indeed," said Brainy, and he seemed a tad more confident that time. "And how are you?"

El raised an eyebrow again. She eyed the Coluan suspiciously. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"Am I not allowed to engage in, as they say, small talk?"

"I guess," El laughed. "But it's never really been your thing, Brainy. I've always liked that about you."

"Perhaps, then, I ask because I am aware the answer might not be as small as the question might appear?"

"Ah, now that sounds like Brainy," El laughed once more. She stared at the Q-CPU for a moment. "Superheroing's hard."

Brainy, to his credit, only nodded at that.

"I just want to be good at this, you know?"

"Has something indicated to you that you are not?"

El thought back to her Ormanian fight and that CatCo article. She sighed. "Not really, I just..." She waved her hands in the air. "It's just expectation, you know?"

"From whom?" Querl, naturally, asked. "Has someone indicated that you are not?"

"No," the teen quickly answered, and she knew it was the truth. No one had. No one who mattered ever would. And yet... "I just want to prove them right, you know?"

And Brainy nodded. "The overarching need to prove oneself seems to be an inborn desire. For non-Coluans, at least."

El smirked. "Oh, don't act all high-and-mighty, Mr. Living Computer. Something tells me you're not likely to back down from a 'challenge.'" And she tapped the Q-CPU. The Coluan's mouth turned down slightly.

"I believe I see what you mean."

"Then I'll leave you to it," Supergirl replied. "By the way, my money's on you."

And he actually smiled. El stepped towards the door, only for her ears to catch something. She turned back to the computer, the one sitting on the table. She wasn't sure, but the circle on the side seemed to be glowing brighter.

"Brainy?" she asked. "Does it shine like that often?"

"The light fixture does seem to fluctuate at odd intervals."

"But it's steady," and it was growing brighter. "And there's a hum that wasn't there before." It was growing louder, too.

"Yes," Querl said after a moment. "I can hear it, as well." He swept an arm through the air and the numbers appeared again. His eyes darted quickly, taking in new information. "There seems to be an energy build up in an, as yet, inoperative area of the mechanism. Curious."

Curious, indeed, but also ominous. El watched as the light got brighter and brighter, the hum louder and louder. She didn't have to read the code to guess at what was about to happen.

"Brainy!" she shouted and grabbed the Coluan, yanking him away from the center of the room and shielding his body as the Q-CPU glowed like a supernova for a second. Then a wave of energy burst out of it, sending sparks flying all over the room. Then everything went dark.

Supergirl lifted her head after a moment. The lights were out. Not just the overheads, but the computer and equipments lights. But, most of all, the light on the Q-CPU. Not only that, the machine was obviously dead, smoking, half-charred, with a hole burned right through it.

"Brainy, are you okay?" she asked, then looked down. The Coluan's hair had gone white, the trio of dots clearly visible on his head. His cloaking shield was off. "Brainy?" she asked again, worried.

A tense moment passed, and then Querl's eyes opened. "Oh my," he commented. "That was unexpected."

"A failsafe from the Q-CPU?"

"So, it would seem."

"That was a full EMP, wasn't it?" El asked.

Querl nodded shakily. "So, it would seem."

"Are you all right?"

"I am fine."

"Querl, you're part computer," the teen pointed out. "And we were standing ten feet from the blast."

"I will have you know, my Coluan systems are far superior to normal electronics," he said as he rose. "I certainly would not be affected by a mere electromagnetic- Oh, it seems I was wrong." The quick reply came just before he pitched back to the floor again.

"Brainy!"

"I am undamaged," he said. "My systems just need a moment to reboot."

El breathed a slight sigh of relief. She looked at the Q-CPU again. She didn't have to ask if there was any hope of salvage. You had to give it to Cadmus; they were damn thorough.

"Take your time," she said with another sigh. "Then I'll help you clean up in here."

"That is not our primary concern," Querl responded. He gripped her arm suddenly. "The EMP may have cut off power elsewhere."

"It's a building full of trained DEO agents," El pointed out. "They can handle themselves in a crisis."

"They are not our primary concern," Brainy replied seriously. "Power may be out in the entire building. Including-"

"The holding cells," El realized.

"Go. Now."

And Supergirl sped away.

* * *

Down on the detention level, the heavy, security door that blocked the cells from the main corridor began to shift, slowly. Soon a space was wrenched open and claws and hands began to scrabble to pull the door further apart.

"Ha!" a crackling voice hissed. "Got it!" A scaly figure pushed against the door, sliding it down it's track until the space was big enough to step through. He sneered towards its fellow inmates before turning back to the opening and freedom. He was flung back into his companion escapees when a boot connected with his chest.

Supergirl stepped through the door. A horde of alien criminals greeted her from the darkness of the cell block. The emergency lighting had managed to come on by now. It bathed them in brief flashes of deep red. El glanced over her shoulder. There didn't seem to be any personnel to back her up. She made a quick decision and grabbed the door, sliding it back into place heavily. She turned, once again, to the prisoners, already on the verge of riot.

"We seem to be experiencing some technical difficulties." Supergirl said, clapping her hands together. "The DEO would like to apologize for any discomfort this may cause. In the meantime, if you would be so kind as to return to your cells until we can restore power, that would be greatly appreciated."

The group didn't even seem to consider that as an option. El sighed. Well, she had tried. Supergirl punched her fist into her palm.

"Fine, then," she said. "Hard way."

* * *

You don't end up in this particular wing of DEO lockdown without a good reason, so the denizens of this cell block did put up a fight, but even in partial darkness, with an army of prisoners, the single Kryptonian held her own nicely. It wasn't until she got to the last holdouts that she began to flag. These, it seemed, had been letting the young hero tire herself out with the rabble. They intended to finish the job. At their head stood a very recognizable, horned figure.

"Hey," El wheezed slightly. "You don't have your hammer. Still want to go for round 2?"

The Ormanian sneered in reply.

"Suit yourself," El said and put up her fists.

She ducked and dodged the alien's rapid attacks. It wouldn't have been much of a fight, but he had back-up. A shorter but broad-shouldered figure with copper skin. He tried to flank El, who saw him as she dodged another Ormanian strike and followed it up with a back-fist to her second attacker. Her fist bounced off. She turned quickly and unleashed a series of jabs, watching the copper alien's head snap back and forth but with no further damage.

"Impenetrable skin, little girl," he snarled.

El breathed heavily. She glanced between the two of them. The Ormanian loomed closer. She stared at copperhead. "Good to know," she replied, right before she swept his feet out from under him. As he cartwheeled through the air, head over heels, Supergirl grabbed a passing ankle, turned, and swung him at the Ormanian, now wielding a hammer of her own. Unconventional, but it turned out to be effective, especially when it knocked the Ormanian down to the floor.

"Don't call me 'little girl'," the teen said as she dropped the copper-skinned alien to the ground in a heap. She exhaled. Thank Rao that was over.

A sound caught her ears. She groaned as she turned around to see several of the escapees she had previously incapacitated were starting to get up.

"Come on, ya'll," she whined. "It's only going to hurt you way more than it's going to hurt me."

Most of them didn't seem to think this was a valid reason to stay down. Supergirl took her stance. It was going to be a long night.

Another sound caught the girl's ears. She looked behind her to see the giant door being shifted open again. A shaft of light appeared through the opening, in it stood a caped figure. The prisoners froze.

"Go back to your cells," Superwoman said slowly and solidly.

There was a brief, tense pause, then what prisoners were cognizant began to shuffle back to their cells.

"Oh, sure, when she says it!" El shouted after them. The girl stumbled momentarily. Jeju appeared at her side. An arm snaked around the girl, under her arms, and she suddenly realized how exhausted she was.

"I got you, little one," Jeju said. "Are you okay?"

"Fine," El insisted. Jeju began to lead her out while a team of DEO agents entered to clean up the remainder of the prisoners still lying on the floor. "Hey, my first prison break," Supergirl pointed out.

"Yeah," Kara agreed, though with a worried edge to her voice.

"You should have seen me," the girl went on. She gestured towards the Ormanian, who, even now, was being dragged onto a gurney by several agents. "I hit that guy with that other guy."

"I'm just glad you're okay," replied Jeju. "What happened?"

"Let's find Alex," Supergirl said. "I'll explain on the way."

* * *

They found the DEO director in the hub. Systems were just starting to come up, but there was clearly still a lot of work to be done. Half of the screens on the big monitor were out. Nevertheless, the redhead greeted the two Supers with a warm nod.

"You all right?" she asked the teen.

El nodded in reply.

"Good job in there," Alex added. "That was top stuff."

Supergirl allowed herself a smile, but she caught the serious look in Alex's eyes. She wasn't sure, at first, if it was just concern for her niece or something more. She decided it was something more. El's face dropped along with her shoulders.

"Someone escaped," she said. She had rushed to the maximum security block. It seemed the most prudent course of action. That's where they kept the really dangerous ones. She thought she had been smart, locking them in with her, but...

"Just one," Alex replied, and El didn't have to ask who. Neither did Kara.

"Don't tell me," Superwoman said.

El felt her heart sink, her stomach, her everything. The realization hit her like a freight train before Alex even said the words, "Lillian's gone."

* * *

They got the DEO fully running in an hour. Everyone was checking systems and doing a full sweep of the detention blocks to make sure they hadn't lost anything in the chaos. Anything else, at least.

El stood, head in her hands, elbows on the central table of the hub, letting the activity roll around her. A medical technician had come by to check her after her fight, but she shooed them away. There had even been the offering to go hang out under the sun lamps for a while, but she had declined. She wanted to be here for this. She needed to be here for this.

"Brainy confirmed," Alex said. "From what we can tell from the remains of the Q-CPU this was some kind of failsafe. Anyone tampers with the device, gets past enough of the encryption, the whole thing implodes, wiping out any memory and severely hurting whoever was trying to break in."

"She knew," Kara said. "Lillian knew. She had to have known." Superwoman paced angrily, as she had for the last hour. El had yet to make eye contact or even look at her. The girl wasn't sure she could bear it. So, she held her head, stared at the floor, and tried to decide if it was better to sulk or punch something.

"That's what I'm thinking," Alex agreed.

"This was her plan all along," Kara said, stomping as she did. "She gets us to raid the Cadmus base, bring this thing here, knowing it'll blow up in our faces."

Alex nodded. "Even for her, it's pretty devious."

"But why?" Kara asked as she came to a stop, and that was the question.

Escape? Sure. But even that seemed a bit convoluted on the Luthor matriarch's part. All this just for a prison escape? If she had meant to cause a mass breakout, they had foiled that. Was it just a means to embarrass the DEO, a prelude to something else, a twist of the knife? It all seemed plausible, but not enough. The question still lingered. El realized it had since she had first found Lilian in the back of that truck. Had this just been a setup from the start? Then why all the work-up? Why gift wrap Lillian like that if she was only going to break out? Unless she had been telling the truth. If she had been telling the truth about anything. Maybe she had fallen out of favor with Cadmus. So she sells them out, gets the DEO to grab the Q-CPU, and uses it to escape to freedom from them both. Even that, though, didn't feel like it fully settled the matter. Lillian always played the long game. So what was the gambit here? What else was going on?

And then El realized that was the real question.

"What else?" she said aloud. Eyes turned towards her. "What else is missing?" Supergirl clarified.

Alex looked confused for a moment until she, too, caught on. She spun quickly, nearly calling for the person who had already appeared right behind her. Brainy held up a tablet.

"Supergirl has the right idea," he explained. "I took the liberty of checking the lab inventory."

Alex grabbed the tablet and spun it in her hands. She stared at the screen for a moment, dreadfully silent, then turned and handed it to Superwoman. Alex stared now at El as Kara read the screen. When she spoke it aloud, Supergirl decided punching something was the better option.

"The Eradicator matrix," Jeju said, and El's fist left a crater in the table.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the escape, it's time to figure out what they're going to do. It's also time to come together to face what Lillian has planned next.

Betrayal. It seemed to be Lillian Luthor's middle name. The woman had played them all, not the least El, and now the, possibly former, head of Cadmus was running around with a Kryptonian eugenics machine. No one was happy to think on the possibilities.

"I'm having Brainy sweep our systems again," Alex commented as she paced around the hub. "Looking for leaks."

"I doubt he'll find anything," Lena replied. "I'm not surprised Lillian knew about the Eradicator. She has her ways. Even in Cadmus custody."

"So you're buying that angle?" the DEO director asked.

The dark-haired woman only shrugged. "It's as plausible as anything," she said. "If Cadmus wanted to steal the matrix, there are easier ways than handing over Lillian Luthor." She shook her head in thought. "No, it's just as likely this is a way to prove her loyalty."

"So the Eradicator is her ticket back in?" wondered the redhead.

Lean shrugged again. "Or something else. Either way, we don’t want her to have it."

"Do you think she'll have an idea how to get it to work?"

That question Lena nodded solidly at. "Undoubtedly."

Alex sighed and braced her hands against the table. "We're running the algorithm we used the first time the Eradicator was out there," she said. "Whatever she wants to do with it, she'll have to charge it up, so we'll try and catch any large drains on the power grid."

Lena nodded again, but less convinced this time. Lillian was a slippery one. She had evaded them this long. Funny, how they had had her so close, only to lose her in the end.

"We should have locked her up," the comment came, gritty and hard and pissed off. Alex and Lena turned their heads to Superwoman. Kara had been unnaturally quiet since they'd called Lena in, since the breakout even. She had barely acknowledged her wife's presence with a single kiss to her brow.

"We had her locked up, Kara," Alex answered.

"We should have locked her up harder!" Kara snapped back, her fury, before a sizzle now a burn. "We should have found the darkest hole and shut her in, and if she even thought about trying to buy her way out, we should have shoved her promises back down her throat and let her choke on them!" She fumed. Then her eyes caught Lena's. The dark-haired woman looked back with seriousness, but also with care, and the blonde deflated.

Lena stepped towards her wife. "We did everything we could."

"It wasn't enough," Kara groaned.

"It never is with Lillian."

"I'm sorry."

"You don't have to be," Lena chided gently. "That's the point. She played us all."

Kara gripped the woman's arms. "Are you okay?" she whispered.

Lena nodded. "I told you. I made my peace a long time ago." She shook her head. "I'm sad, but I'm not surprised." The reminder, though, made the woman glance around. She held one person she cared about and suddenly had the desire to comfort the other. Only she seemed to be missing. "Where's El?"

Both Alex and Kara did their own sweep of the room. In the discussion, tense as it was, the teen had somehow slipped away. The DEO director grabbed her tablet and clicked through to the personnel search. A window appeared with a security feed. She watched it for a moment, then sighed heavily.

"She's in the gym," Alex said as she handed the tablet over to the girl's parents. They looked to see their daughter taking her manifest frustration out, violently, on a punching bag.

Kara breathed deeply. "I'll go talk to her." A hand was laid against her arm. She turned to Lena, who shook her head.

"No," the dark-haired woman said. "Trust me, when it comes to Lillian Luthor," and she looked into the blonde's eyes. "There's only one person who understands."

* * *

Stupid.

That's how she felt. That and so many other things right now. Like disappointed and angry. At Lillian. At life. At herself, most of all.

She should have reacted faster, she decided. Subdued the prisoners quicker, been less showy. She should have closed the door and melted it with her heat vision to keep them inside. She should have made a pitstop at a certain isolation cell and knocked Lillian on her ass first before going down to the maximum security wing.

Should have. Might have. Could have. Didn't.

So many possibilities. So many better ways she could have done this. All for nought. Because she hadn't. And Lillian got away. With the Eradicator. And 2 guesses as to whose fault that was.

But the girl couldn't turn back time, so, instead, she punched the bag. She put all her inadequacies into her fist and laid them against the vinyl-covered sand. All with the red sun lamps turned on full. She wanted to feel it, after all. She wanted to feel something. Maybe she just wanted to be punished, to rob herself of the superpowers she so obviously didn't deserve.

In her frustration, in her abject, self-directed fury, she might not have noticed the woman who stepped into the room not saying a word. But she did, even without super senses. Some part of her had expected someone to come down, eventually. It was only right. She didn't say anything at first, though, afraid for what she was going to say and, yet, all too eager to get it over with.

El punched the bag harder then before. It spun on its chain, thrown a fair bit, despite no super strength. It swung out and back towards the teen, striking her against the shoulder. El stumbled away, rounding again angrily, but it quickly fizzled. She dropped a hand against the bag, her knuckles swiping ineffectually against the surface.

"How am I doing on coping mechanisms?" she asked between deep breaths.

"I've had worse," Lena replied gently. "As I recall, your Jeju used to punch engine blocks."

El tapped the bag again. A tear welled up in her eye. She tried to shove it back by sheer force of will. "I'm sorry," she said and winced at the sob in her throat.

"What are you sorry for, baby?"

El stared at the woman, as if the answer was obvious, but, when she saw only an ocean of love in her green eyes, she quickly looked away.

"It was my fault."

Lena closed half the distance in an instant, only holding back from embracing her daughter immediately by the look on the girl's face.

"It is not your fault, Ellie."

"I'm the one who talked to her," El insisted. "You all didn't want me to, I know you didn't." She sniffled and pushed the bag feebly. "I thought I was so smart, like I could handle _Lillian Luthor_.” And the name was as much title as warning. She punched the bag harder. "But she had me pegged from the first moment, and everything she said about me was right. I'm just some pathetic teenager trying to prove I'm good enough!" She swung again, a wild punch, no form, no real power, just desperation. Her fist twisted into the bag, knocking it away minutely, only serving to further frustrate the girl, who screamed and made to strike again.

A hand caught her elbow. She struggled lazily against it but hadn't the heart to resist.

"If you want to work out your anger, I'll hold the bag," Lena spoke to her daughter, her words warm but solid and serious. "But I will not let you hurt yourself."

El struggled again, once, then slumped down. She wanted to ask why? It seemed like the question. She couldn't bear to speak it, though. Nevertheless, her Mom already had the answer.

"I am your mother," she said. "I love you, and nothing will ever change that.” She finally wrapped her arms around the girl. “Your Jeju loves you, and nothing will ever change that, either.”

El wiped another tear away, spreading it across her cheek as she sniffled. "I just wanted to be good at this," she cried. "I just wanted to be good at something."

Lena gripped her daughter in a fierce hug. "El, you are good at lots of things," she replied with astonishment. "You're wonderful. You're amazing. You make us so proud just by being you."

"But I tried!" El screamed. "Math, science, school, I never had to try with anything else, but I tried with this. I tried so hard, and it just wouldn't work! I couldn't make it work!" She blubbered. "Why couldn't I make it work?"

"El, you cannot blame yourself for this."

"It was my idea," the young woman countered.

"No," said Mom, her forehead touching her daughter's temple. "It was hers. Trust me, we're all just pawns in Lillian's game."

El sniffled. She laid an apathetic push at the bag. "If you're here to tell me, 'I told you so,'" she said and turned towards the woman, her head hung low. "I think I'm mature enough to hear it."

Lena Luthor stared at her daughter. "Ellie baby, I don't want to tell you that.”

El finally looked up in shock and disappointment.

“You believe in people,” Mom added. “I don’t ever want you to stop doing that.”

“But she didn’t deserve it,” the girl argued.

Lena shook her head. “No, she didn’t, but I won’t have her poisoning you with her inadequacies.” She wiped a tear away herself. “I know what it’s like to stop trusting people, and I never want that for you. You have to keep up hope, baby. It’s the only thing that will get you through.”

El laid her head against the woman’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I ever found her,” she sobbed. “I’m sorry you had to see her again.”

Lena stroked her daughter’s hair lovingly. “I meant what I said: she can’t hurt me anymore. I’ve wanted Lillian to be a better person every day I’ve ever known her.” She pulled the girl’s face away and cupped her cheeks in her hands. “But she doesn’t want to be. That’s on her. What we do about it is on us.”

Supergirl stared back, sniffling as fresh tears fell. “Is it okay if I kick her ass now?”

Lena chuckled wetly, a few tears of her own rimming her eyes. “I’ll hold her down for you.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lillian's on the loose, with the Super Clan right on her tail. But will they be ready for the Luthor's next move?

When Supergirl came back from the gym, wrapped up in her mother's arms, it was with a renewed determination. Mistakes be damned, she wasn't about to let Lillian get away with any of it. There was still the matter of catching her, though.

When they first encountered the Eradicator, Brainy had theorized the matrix needed massive amounts of energy in order to duplicate Kryptonian powers. Thus they had employed an algorithm to track large taps on the city's power grid. The moment the Eradicator went missing, they put the algorithm to work, assuming, naturally, that Lillian would need to charge the matrix. Only they hadn't so much as seen a blip on the power grid yet.

That brought them back to the central question, which was what exactly was the Luthor matriarch going to do with the Eradicator? The Kryptonian nanotech was advanced enough, but it would take years, if not decades, to reverse engineer the technology. The Eradicator had been able to give Dr. Connor Kryptonian powers, and fairly powerful versions of them, for a short period of time, but he was merely a host, puppeteered by the computer. That didn't strike anyone as something Lillian would subject herself to, and it didn't seem possible she would be able to control the matrix any more than any other human. So, what then? What was the end game?

All they really knew was it wouldn't be pleasant, and the longer it took to find her, the worse it would be.

Mom stayed, for a while. Partly to help in the search but also as it seemed the only way the whole Danvers-Luthor clan could be in the same place right now, and they needed to be together, now more than ever. Finally, though, she had some business to take care of at L-Corp. Jeju had been hesitant, but the dark-haired woman had assured her wife Lillian wasn't about to hurt her.

El stared between computer screens for a long time, surveying the power grid for National City, satellite maps of autonomous energy sources, all the while letting her senses take in the city at large, willing, as she did, for something to rise out of the noise and chaos. She'd settle for anything but would prefer a nicely printed sign that read: "Evil Lady Here. Please Proceed To Kick Ass."

Sadly, nothing.

She felt the hand before it landed gently on her shoulder. She had sensed the presence long before it neared her, even among the thousand other things she was hearing. El breathed and let her senses shrink down to the room she was in. She turned her head to blue eyes, framed by blonde hair, over a gentle smile.

"You've been at this awhile," Jeju said softly.

The teen glanced briefly back at the screens and their myriad information. She sighed. "I was hoping I'd get lucky."

Superwoman neither judged nor objected to that, only nodded. "We'll find her. Don't worry."

El nodded and made to turn back to the screens. The hand on her shoulder gently tightened. The girl turned back to those blue eyes. Kara worried her lip for a moment.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "If I haven't made it abundantly clear that everything you've done so far is exactly what you were supposed to be doing."

El was tempted to look away for a moment, but those blue eyes held her, as gently as the hand.

"Being Supergirl," Kara continued after a deep breath. "It's not just a job, it's a calling, and that may make it seem like you can't mess up." She shook her head. "But, little one, the mess ups are just as much a part of it as anything. The cape is a big responsibility, but you grow into it, I promise." A second hand joined the first on the girl's opposite shoulder, such that she was bodily facing the blonde now. "I know it doesn't feel like it, but you're right where you need to be. I'm your Jeju, so it's hard for me to see you struggle, but I remind myself I struggled just as much. The struggle is the job. It's a lot, but I know you can handle it, and I am so proud and so excited to see you make this, make Supergirl, your own."

The tears in the girl's eyes mirrored the ones rimming the woman's. "I love you, Jeju," El whispered.

"And I love you, little one." Kara embraced her daughter, and she held on as tightly as she always wanted to.

The moment was disturbed by someone clearing their throat. Both turned to the door to find a well-known redhead standing in it.

"Sorry to interrupt," the DEO director said sincerely. She looked to Superwoman. "I was hoping you'd be up for a an x-ray scan of the city."

"That's not likely to narrow much down," Kara replied.

Alex nodded. "I know, but I feel like we're exhausting all other options, might as well." She nodded to Supergirl. "Lucky that you have some back-up."

El smiled back.

"Lucky, indeed," Jeju said with her arm around the girl. She looked down at El. "It's going to be a late night," she added, and they all understood the implications.

"I'll call Mom," El volunteered. "Maybe she can pick up something for dinner."

Kara tapped the girl on the nose. "Excellent idea."

"If Lena's getting food," Alex said. "I'll go in for some pizza."

"Noted," El said as they stepped out into the hub.

The girl fished her phone out of its pouch on her suit and found the contact quickly. She pressed it to her ear as the cell rang and rang. Mom seemed to be taking her time. The teen figured she must be in the middle of something. Eventually, the line picked up, but, rather than the warm tones of Lena Luthor, the girl heard only silence.

"Mom?" she asked.

Finally, there was an answer. "I always knew Lena was sentimental, but the sheer number of photos she has of the three of you is, frankly, disturbing."

El's blood went cold. The voice was familiar, quite familiar, with all the iciness of years. She could practically see the sneer as if it was preserved under glass, just like the last time she had talked to the woman on the other end of the line.

"Where's Mom?" the teen asked, her voice a hoarse whisper, so on edge it could slice paper with ease.

"Let's see. The three of you at lunch. Some shots of you and Kara in the park. Oh, so many photos of you at graduation. My goodness, there's a lot. You'd think she'd know what you looked like. A capture from that interview you did. And... What's this? Oh my, I seem to have wandered into the private folder. Tsk, tsk, Lena, don't you know it's not safe to keep these things on your phone? What would people think if the internet saw you in that?"

"WHERE'S MOM?" El screamed.

The hub came to a standstill. Kara turned with a questioning look, until the truth hit her in a second. The blonde's eyes went wide at the same time her fists clenched. Alex spun immediately to a nearby tech.

"Trace, now!" she hissed.

"You know I really should thank you," Lillian went on with a shrill chuckle. "I would have had a time of it convincing Kara or her sister, but you, so eager to believe, so desperate to prove yourself. I might have just asked for the Eradicator and saved you the embarrassment. Then again, it was so delightful to watch you run around, chasing your own tail."

"Whatever you've done to her-" El started through gritted teeth.

"She's my daughter," Lillian answered back, seriously. "I would never do anything to harm her. I'm going to save her, and I'm going to save this city in the process. From you." There was a slight groan on the other end. "While I'm at it, I might have to save her from this decor. That couch is far too plush to be taken seriously."

El's head spun to Kara's. "Apartment," she mouthed.

Superwoman didn't even bother to nod, only spun on her heels and jetted out the balcony at such a speed she left a small crater in the floor.

"If you had any last quips to throw my way," Lillian added. "Please do. I am a very busy woman."

"When I find you," El breathed harshly. "I am going to rip that smug smile right off your face."

The woman on the other end huffed dismissively. "Not your best line," she said before the line went dead.

Supergirl exited the DEO with as much speed as Superwoman. She alighted on the penthouse balcony a heartbeat later, hoping, against her better reasoning, that she'd find Lillian held up by the neck by Jeju. All she found was Kara standing in their empty apartment, a phone held in her hand and a quite fury vibrating off of her. El didn't have to ask. She stepped closer and spied the message left on the screen.

YOU DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD BE THAT EASY, DID YOU?

El screamed.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lillian's got Lena. Now Superwoman and Supergirl are desperate to find her. But will they be ready when they do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we're back! Sorry for the delay, but I'm eager to get this story wrapped up for you.  
> (Then onto the next.)  
> Enjoy!

Silence.

That was the worst part. From action and threats and quips and then nothing. No follow-up from Lillian, not so much as a peep. Just like the empty penthouse. Just like the space Mom was supposed to occupy. El stood at the balcony of the DEO and vibrated in anger.

She wanted to break something. A lot of things. When they had arrived back at HQ, there was a part of her that had nearly made a beeline to the gym, no red sun lamps this time, just her and whatever inanimate object got in her way. But, no, she didn’t want to do that. She didn’t want to break something. She wanted to break someone. Someone specific.

But they couldn’t find her.

The algorithm they had previously used to track the Eradicator had so far come up with nothing. If Lillian was charging it, they couldn’t track her. Even now, Alex was leading the entire DEO in the search. Brainy was working through what he had garnered from the matrix in his research to try and determine how Lillian might implement it, for whatever she had planned with it. But that, just like where she was, they were no closer to knowing.

So all El could do was fume and stew. And listen. 

She strained her ears, filtering through the strange symphony of the city, shuffling past a thousand idling engines, crying babies, people talking, through noise and hum, looking for a sound. One she had first heard in the womb. One of the first she had memorized and taught herself how to listen for when she had gotten her powers. A heartbeat. Lena’s heartbeat.

But it wasn’t there. It had been hours and, still, silence.

She felt the presence move next to her, even focused as she was. She didn’t have to guess. The warmth of the body, like a miniature sun in human form, was enough. But the girl did not open her eyes, did not look to the side. If she did, she wasn’t sure she could hold it together.

“I can’t hear her either,” Kara said softly.

El let out a shaky breath and finally opened her eyes. She looked out on the city, drifting to evening. It might have been beautiful but for the tightness in her chest.

“It should have been me,” El whispered.

Jeju’s head tilted to hers.

“I riled Lillian up,” Supergirl went on. “I’m the one who had something to prove.” She sighed again. “If she wanted to hurt me, she should have come for me.”

Kara stared for a beat, then laid her hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “You think that would make things better?”

El’s eyes connected with the blonde’s. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “If she had, then I wouldn’t have to be here, wondering what she’s going to do with Mom.”

“Maybe,” Kara said with a nod. “But then I would be out on this balcony with your Mom, and the two of us would be worried about you.”

El took that thought into consideration. That was the really awful thing about all of this superheroing that she hadn’t considered beforehand, so eager to put on the cape as she had been. Whatever happened, it had always been the three of them. Back in the day, El and Lena could hold each other while they waited for Superwoman to come home. Now, National City had two protectors, but that meant one less person waiting at home, that meant one more person for Mom to worry over. It didn’t seem fair.

“Is this what it’s really like?” The teen asked. “Being a superhero? Wringing yourself out with guilt over the people you can’t protect?”

It was Kara’s turn to sigh. “Sometimes,” she admitted. “There have always been good parts, but, yeah, this part is the worst.”

El looked out over the city, glittering and so, so quiet. “When I was a kid, everyone knew who my Mom was, but I wanted so badly to tell them about my other mom.” She shook her head. “I feel so stupid now. Of course you’d need to keep all this a secret. How else do you protect the people that matter?”

Jeju’s hand softened on the girl’s shoulder. “It made me proud to know how proud you were of me,” she replied. “But I never would have forgiven myself if someone had used that, used you against me.”

“And now Lillian has Mom,” El said, her voice low and angry, practically a growl.

“We’ll get her back,” replied Kara, though her voice was thin with confidence. “But your Mom’s right, we can’t blame ourselves for other people’s bad choices. This is Lillian’s doing. She should be our focus, not our own false guilt.”

El nodded. She had no problem keeping Lillian in her crosshairs. The only question was would she be able to hold back when she saw the woman again? But that could wait. For now they had to find her. Find Lillian and they could find Mom.

_Of course_ , El thought suddenly to herself. She turned to Superwoman.

“We’re listening for the wrong heartbeat,” she said.

Kara raised an eyebrow, until the realization settled on her as well. “Lillian’s,” she said. “Do you know it?”

“I think I might,” Supergirl replied before turning back to the city, closing her eyes, and listening.

The symphony came back. One-by-one the other sections died away. They culled through the different instruments until the steady thrum of a million hearts came to their ears. From there, some concentration narrowed that down to one, single beat. Rao, even the woman’s pulse sounded condescending.

“I’ve got it,” said Supergirl.

“Me, too,” Kara added before spinning around. “Alex!” She called towards the Hub. The red-haired director turned rapidly to them. “I think we have something. We’re moving now.”

There was only a simple nod from the DEO chief, and Superwoman spun back around.

“You ready?” She asked, but Supergirl was already nodding.

They turned in unison and leapt into the darkening sky. They followed the steady beat, splitting up and triangulating it until they landed outside a squat, gray building. It looked to be an abandoned lab. A fence encircled the grounds with a rundown, LuthorCorp sign dangling by a rusted screw out front. Some old Luthor holding scheduled for demolition, most likely. It made sense Lillian might find her way here. Still, it was a little obvious, which obviously meant-

“She has to know we’re coming,” El admitted out loud.

Superwoman nodded. “I know you’re eager,” she said, turning to the young hero. “But we have to be smart.”

The teen nodded seriously. “I’ll follow your lead.”

They turned back to the building. Supergirl swept her eyes over it. 

“I’m getting nothing on x-ray,” she said.

“Lead-lined,” Kara replied. “An old, Luthor precaution.” She, too, gave the building the once-over.

“How do you want to enter?” El asked after a minute of pacing the exterior. “I take the back, you take the front? Like with Cadmus?”

Superwoman shook her head. “No. We stick together.”

El started to nod then reconsidered. “But if it’s a trap,” she said. “We both could get caught.”

“Better both than just one,” Kara said, and, before El could ask, she added, “I’m not gonna let her get you alone.”

El nodded. Kara motioned with her chin towards the roof. In a second they were on top of the building. They made quick work of the highest floor, an abandoned office with open walls that left little hiding places. The next two levels were much the same. Finally, on the ground floor they ran into a heavy, metal blast door. Superwoman nodded. This was it. Supergirl took up position on one side. Together, they grabbed the door by handle and hinges and ripped it away. They stepped quickly through.

The room on the other side was dark. Before super-vision could kick in, though, a light came on, illuminating a window on the far side of the room. The glass was thick and lined with wire, like some kind of experiment observation room. Inside a familiar figure sat in a chair, head slumped forward on her chest.

“Mom!” El exclaimed and barely managed to stop herself from charging across the room towards her, certain it would only spring whatever obvious trap there was. Nevertheless, the rest of the lights immediately came on, illuminating the space and a second observation room to their left, with another recognizable figure with an all-to-familiar smile on her face.

“Oh, good,” Lillian intoned haughtily. “The family’s all here.”

There was a heavy thud as a second blast door dropped in behind them. The heroes spun to see their exit blocked, but both quickly turned back forward to the sneering woman in the observation room.

“If you think that door or that glass is going to stop us,” Superwoman said, stepping forward. “You’ve lost your edge, Lillian.” Supergirl let her eyes began to glow for added emphasis

The white-haired woman’s smile did not falter. “Oh, that’s not your main concern,” she replied. She pointed a finger up. “That is.”

The Supers followed her finger to the ceiling, where a charred-black orb hung.

“The Eradicator matrix?” El asked. 

It was just hanging there. Out in the open. Before she could wonder at the villain’s scheme, Lillian reached over and flipped a heavy, electrical switch. The room hummed with a strong, electrical noise, and Supergirl could now see the thick cabling that ran from the walls and connected to the matrix. The orb began to glow, the Kryptonian glyphs lighting up.

Superwoman watched it for a second, before quickly turning back to her main target and taking a step across the room towards her. She didn’t take another. The blonde came to a sudden halt. Her hand flew to her chest, her forehead.

“Jeju?” El asked, stepping forwards, but she suddenly felt it, too. A drop in her stomach, accompanied by a pain in her chest, like someone reaching in and clasping her heart. She tried to breathe, but it was like her lungs weren’t working right. Like everything wasn’t working right. She fell to her knees just after Kara did. There was no strength in their limbs.

“Genetic harmonic resonance,” came the proud voice of Lillian Luthor, no longer behind glass. El managed to crane her neck to see the woman striding towards them. “Truly, a work of genius, but I doubt even its creators would have envisioned quite this application for it.” She stopped a pace in front of the Supers. Close enough for either of them to end her quickly, but neither of them capable of doing more than listening.

“Granted,” she went on. “The Eradicator is an extremely complex piece of machinery. Thankfully, I’ve spent the past quarter century learning everything I could about Kryptonian technology. Just waiting for the opportunity.” She gestured to El. “And you gave it to me.” Lillian looked up at the matrix, even now glowing brighter and brighter, a greasy aura bubbling out through the air around it, expanding towards them. “What you’re feeling right now is the Eradicator vibrating your very DNA. The more energy it consumes, the stronger the vibration will grow, until it shatters every cell in your body like a crystal goblet.”

El dropped to her hands and knees. She glanced over to see Kara not fairing much better but fighting it as hard as she could. El turned back forward as Lillian knelt down in front of her.

“Now before you get all hopeful about some DEO assistance,” the woman added. “I know all about your little algorithm. One of the reasons I chose this spot for your death is that this lab is wired directly into the city’s power grid. They can’t shut off the electricity being funneled to the Eradicator, and by the time any backup gets here, both of you will be dead.”

El looked up to the see the bubble surrounding the black orb even now, slowly, growing. When she looked back at Lillian, all smugness and superiority, her eyes were caught by something else, even more horrifying. Green eyes stared back at her from behind glass. Lena was awake.

Lillian followed the girl’s gaze. “My daughter and I will be making our exit shortly.” She motioned to the floor absent-mindedly. “The sewer access was also a plus.” The Luthor matriarch turned back to the Eradicator. “I’d love to use this again, of course, on your counterparts in Metropolis, but I suppose I can settle for reducing the Kryptonian population on this planet by half.” She stood to her feet with a huff. “Cadmus thinks I’m out-dated. Let’s see how they feel when I do what no one’s been able to do since you filthy aliens landed on this planet.”

El watched her cross the room towards Lena, who was on her feet and pounding her fists against the glass. The girl watched the dark-haired woman scream but could hear nothing behind the obviously soundproof room. Lillian neared her.

“It’s better this way,” she said, and it almost sounded soothing, but Lena wasn’t listening.

El could only watch in horror as Mom grabbed the chair and began to viciously smash it against the glass. To no avail. It barely cracked. All the while, the Eradicator’s field expanded. It would reach them soon. El stared at the woman desperately trying to save them.

Mom, who had told her she could be anything, who had let her be this, despite the fact that it meant she had to stay up and wait for two people she cared about. Now she was going to have to watch both of them die. Superwoman was fully down. The teen wasn’t sure she could spot any movement. It was a wonder the girl was still on her hands and knees, but she knew instantly why. It was the reason the Eradicator had targeted her to begin with. She was only half-alien. Her human DNA, before the thing that seemed destined to keep her grounded, literally, was now the only thing keeping her alive. It wouldn’t last long.

“Let it go, my little half-breed,” Lillian called, aware of that fact as well, it seemed. “There’s no use fighting it.”

El felt her head hang, unable to fight gravity with every cell in her body crying out in pain. A pessimistic part of her thought this might make for a fitting end for her first foray into superherodom. The new Supergirl brought low by the oldest Luthor. Dead, unceremoniously, right on this floor.

El blinked. She stared at the floor. The word sounded in her head. Floor. Floor. Floor. Her neurons burned but thoughts still managed to lightning across them. She tensed her muscles, fighting the pain and the Eradicator field as she shifted her weight back to kneel on her heels and reminded herself of what she really was.

She was half-human and half-Kryptonian. She had her Mom's eyes and her Jeju's nose and both their brains. But, most of all, she had all of their courage. Not just Lena and Kara but Alex and Kelly and Eliza and J'onn and M'gann and Querl and Nia and James and Astrid and everyone who had held her, everyone who had believed in her, everyone who was watching and waiting for her to show the world what she was made of, confident it would blow everyone away, because what she was made of was all of them and so much more.

"You're right, Lillian," she growled through her teeth as she steadied herself. "I am half-alien."

The white-haired woman looked down at her with all the condescension she had. "That won't help you."

"No," El replied. "But you seem to forget what my other half is." She raised her head now, to meet that haughty gaze.

The woman sneered.

"I'm a Luthor," Supergirl added with a pained smirk of her own. "And we don't take shit lying down." The hero then raised her fist and, with all the strength she could muster, brought it down onto the concrete. The cement cracked beneath her knuckles. She followed it with her other fist. Another strike, then another. She kept going.

The superior expression Lillian wore didn't falter until the sixth hit when the crack in the floor began to visibly widen, webbing out across the surface.

"What are you doing?" the Luthor matriarch asked, demanded. "What are you doing?"

But El only kept punching, feeling the Eradicator matrix sapping at her resilience even as she did. She pounded her fists into the concrete, turning to hammer the floor when her knuckles began to bleed. Little by little the cracks grew, the floor began to buckle, until, finally, she brought her hands together to drop them to the ground like a sledge, the concrete cracked solidly and gave way, dropping Supergirl and Superwoman through the floor to the sewer below.

El coughed amid the cloud of dust and cracked cement as she rose up on tired and aching joints. But she could breathe. They were outside the Eradicator’s range. The teen looked up to see the black, charred orb of the matrix hanging above them, the oily bubble of the field still growing. It would reach them in a minute, but it would be over by then.

Lillian wanted power. Supergirl would show her power.

El concentrated, feeling the solar energy coursing through her veins, her body a living battery for it. Supergirl felt the heat rise in her, calling it upward, towards her eyes. She opened them as she looked up to the matrix. Twin beams of solid blue light shot forth. They connected with the outer edge of the field, forcing it back. The Eradicator responded with more power. There was a push and pull for a moment before the field began to shrink and bow in against the hero's heat vision. El yelled as she poured on the power, the light getting brighter and brighter. Finally, the field shrunk down entirely against the onslaught, the heat vision intersected with the side of the black orb, heating it up. At last, the sphere, too, gave way, and the blue beams tore straight through.

Lillian cowered and Lena ducked as the matrix exploded shattering the glass with a shockwave that knocked Supergirl onto her back.

El blinked to consciousness blearily a minute later. Her whole body cried out in pain, but she managed to roll over. She turned to see Superwoman on her back on the ground not too far from her, unmoving. Supergirl reached out, trying to crawl towards her Jeju, only for her hand to be intercepted by a boot. El grimaced in pain. She glanced up to a gun pointed in her face, held by Lillian.

"You really think you've won, don't you?" the woman snarled.

El was a universe of pain right now but still managed a smirk. "Seems that way, doesn't it?"

Lillian cocked the pistol. "At least I can rid the world of one alien today," she said. "Any clever quips for your last words?"

El stared back. She tilted her head. "You know, Nana, nothing seems to come to mind."

Lillian huffed and leveled the gun. El closed her eyes, bracing for the shot, for the end, content, for a second, with the defeated look on the woman’s face.

The gun clattered to the ground. El's eyes snapped open to see Lillian gripping her hand suddenly. The woman turned to look beside her. El followed her gaze to Mom standing there holding a broken iron bar in her hands.

"Lena-" Lillian started, only for her daughter to wind up and clock the bar across her face. The Luthor matriarch crumpled to the ground.

"What did I say about hurting my daughter?" Lena said before dropping the bar.

"Mom?" El asked as the dark-haired woman ducked quickly down to her.

"Ellie, are you all right?" she asked.

"That was bad ass," the teen commented.

"Are you okay?" Lena repeated, running a hand over the girl's head.

El nodded hurriedly. "I'm fine. I'm fine," she insisted and pointed hurriedly to Superwoman. "Check Jeju."

Lena reluctantly moved over to her wife, still lying on the ground. She ran a hand over the blonde tresses. "Kara?" she asked in worried tones.

There was a moment before the blonde hero stirred. She groaned but her eyes opened. "Lena?" she asked, looking around. “What’s going on?"

The dark-haired woman smiled in relief and kissed her brow. "You're all right," she said. 

“What happened?” Superwoman groaned.

Lena glanced back at their daughter. "Supergirl saved the day."

El rose to her feet, beaming with pride. She eyed her parents happily, then noted the shakiness in her legs.

"The Eradicator field is gone, right?" she had to ask.

"Yes, baby," Lena replied. "You obliterated it."

"Then why does the floor feel funny?" El asked before it occurred to her. "Oh, I think that's me," she added before pitching back towards the ground.

"El!"


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lillian's locked up. The day is saved. The only question that remains: is the New Supergirl ready to get back on the horse?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Finale! Chapter 2 of El's story is in the bag. Thank you so much for reading along. Don't worry, there is more to come!

El awoke with a gasp and a blinding pain through her whole body, which she immediately shut her eyes against, that and the bright lights directly overhead. After a moment, she was able to blink to vision again, blurry though it was.

"Oh, thank Rao!" came a voice from somewhere in the hazy mid-distance. The teen felt a warm, soft, familiar hand on her shoulder and another on the opposite side.

"Mom..." she whispered. "Jeju...?"

"We're here, baby," a loving, deep voice called to her.

The girl finally blinked fully awake. She turned her head to a blonde and a brunette on either side. El smiled.

"Hey," she said then shook her head again. The pain was still there, distant but persistent. "What happened?"

Lena glanced at Kara. "Someone went a little harder against the Eradicator than we thought," the blonde replied. "We brought you back to the DEO to recoup."

El nodded blearily at that. She was in the sun lamp room at HQ. Of course, she had poured so much into that blast of heat vision, uncertain how much the matrix could take, desperate to stop it before the field expanded; she must have blown out her powers.

El nodded again, lifting up a hand towards her parents. That's when she saw it. The bandage wrapped around her palm. And she was reminded of the pain that still thrummed through her whole body. She had blown out her powers, and, in the moment, she couldn't stop her brain from spiraling through the thought cascade. Her powers were gone. What if they didn't come back?

What if?

What if?

What if?

And, seeming to sense her thoughts, Mom wrapped her hand gently between her own. She brought it close to kiss the girl's knuckles.

"It's okay," the dark-haired woman soothed. "They're still there. You just dumped your solar energy. That's all."

El exhaled shakily. Another breath brought her closer to equilibrium. She closed her eyes and tilted her heads towards the solar lamps shining on her. She sighed and blinked her eyes open again. She glanced at Jeju.

"So that's what a solar flare feels like, huh?" she asked. "Sort of like a full body sneeze?"

Kara nodded knowingly. "Kind of cathartic, too, right?"

"Yeah," El agreed, then happened to glance at Mom's worried expression, adding immediately, "I mean no."

Lena shook her head before planting a kiss on the girl's hair. "Your Jeju knows she's only allowed to scare me that badly every so often," she said, indicating the blonde, who nodded with a guilty expression. Lena pointed at her daughter. "You, young lady, are paid up for the year."

"Yes, ma'am."

Lena kissed her again. "Now," she added. "Let's get you home."

El looked around confused. She pointed at the lamps. "Don't we want to wait until I recharge?"

"We have sun lamps at home," Lena pointed. "Besides," and she glanced between her daughter and her wife. "I think we could all use some time together."

It was hard for either of them to argue with that, and the look on Jeju's face, the one that the teen knew matched her own, said they didn't even want to.

* * *

Soon enough, the teen found herself bundled warmly on the couch back in the apartment.

"Comfortable?" Mom asked as she adjusted a pillow behind the teen's back. El nodded contentedly. "Need another blanket?"

The girl shook her head. "No, I'm good. Oh, wait," she quickly added before the dark-haired woman stepped away. The girl pointed to a plastic cup sitting on the coffee table, filled to the brim with the most sugary concoction Noonan's was able to produce. "Can you get me that?"

Lena stared between her daughter and the cup, very much in arm’s length of the girl in question. "El, it's two feet from you."

The girl put on a look of faux suffering. "But... weak..." she groaned. "Can't... reach."

Mom's brow furrowed. "So I see you've decided to milk your current situation for all its worth."

"At least for a day or two," El replied normally. Lena handed the drink over with a look of only slight maternal disappointment. "By the way," her daughter added. "If you wanted to join me, considering we're both sort of in recovery from our tremendous ordeal."

The teen pulled back a corner of the blanket she was comfortably ensconced under. Lena looked between the girl and the blanket. Her eyebrow raised conspiratorially.

When Kara returned with the first round of snack plates for what promised to be a night of food and cuddles, she found her wife and daughter comfortably, and completely, enwrapped on the couch. The blonde blanched in shock.

"What's this?" she asked.

"The powerless among us have decided we simply cannot be burdened with any kind of heavy lifting," Lena replied with a melodramatic hand to her forehead, which El mirrored.

"But... but..." Kara stuttered. "But I want to be in the blanket pile, too!"

"Well, then hurry up with the rest of the food," her wife ordered.

There was a quick whirl of motion and the Super returned with the another of snack trays, which were laid out in arms reach on the table before burrowing into the pillows herself on El's other side. The girl hummed happily as she was quickly sandwiched between her mothers in warmth. Whether by design or simply instinct, both pressed a quick kiss to her temples.

"Your Mom told me what you did," Jeju said as they got comfortable. "Punching the floor, now that is a genius hero move."

"I know, right!" El exclaimed. "You should have seen the look on Lillian's face."

"I imagine it must have been pretty cool," Kara replied.

"Oh no," El quickly interjected. "The coolest part was Mom clocking her across the face with a length of rebar."

Kara raised an eyebrow at that. Mom's head waggled in disagreement for a moment before she finally nodded.

"She's right," the dark-haired woman agreed. "That was pretty cool."

"And I missed it?!?" Kara complained.

They quickly settled into the food, throwing on an old movie, but mostly just holding each other close and warm. El had to admit she was eager to recharge and get her powers back, but if recharging meant being like this, she would take all she could get.

* * *

"So how's the battery looking?" Astrid asked from the phone screen as El strode down the streets of National City.

"We're thinking I'm at about 75%," the teen replied. "I'm definitely feeling better but don't want to push myself too hard too soon."

"I get that," her cousin said, walking herself it looked like through woods.

"Are you on a run?" El asked.

"Yep," came the reply. "Putting in some miles on the back 40 out here."

"How's training?"

"Tough but, god, it's fun," the cadet stated with a smile. "The Sergeant Major was so impressed she put my name in for the advanced stuff their doing later."

"Top of the class," El commented with a salute.

"You know it," the curly-haired woman said. She adjusted the phone in her hand as she continued her run. "So, first supervillain, that's pretty wild."

"I know, right?”

“I have to admit,” Astrid said. “Mom had told me stories about Lillian, but I didn’t really buy it. The descriptions always felt overblown.”

“Oh, take whatever negative assumptions you have and multiply them by a thousand,” replied El. “Nana Lillian is the archetype for evil.”

Astrid suddenly laughed. “Nana Lillian?!” She shouted. “Please tell me you called her that to her face.”

El grinned broadly. “Multiple times.”

“That is my girl!” The curly-haired cadet exclaimed, pumping her fist to the sky. “Sass Squad Supreme!”

“Supreme!” El joined in.

“So, first big baddie under your belt,” her cousin added after a minute of contented silence. “You still in this?”

El had to give the question some thought, though she already had the answer. The teen nodded resolutely after a breath. “Now, more than ever. It’s not what I expected,” she admitted. “But I’m not sure I really could have understood beforehand, in any case. Not fully. Some things you’ve just got to experience, right?”

The cadet nodded her agreement.

“But I know what’s required of me, and I know what I’m capable of,” the teen continued. She smiled. “And I know who’s in my corner.”

“1000%,” Astrid replied. She smiled at the screen. “Listen, it was good talking to you, but I gotta to put in some miles, so I’ll let you go.”

“Love you.”

“Love you, too.” The curly-haired young woman flashed a peace sign at the screen. 

El waved as the call ended. The teen stuffed the phone back in her pocket and tilted her head towards the sky. It had been a sunny few days, as if even the weather was on her side right now. It felt good. She took in the deep blue above, sighed, and thought to herself, “Soon.”

* * *

“You sure you’re up for this,” Alex piped in through the comms.

Supergirl took a deep breath of the cool air, high on her perch atop one of the many skyscrapers of downtown National City, the wind whipping her hair and cape. It had been a week since the incident with Lillian. Thankfully, they had plenty of data on solar flares, but this was the teen’s first, so they had been watching her closely. Mom and Jeju insisted she take the full week to recoup before even trying out her powers again. The young hero was completely charged, though, and very much eager to get back at it.

“Definitely,” El replied. 

“I’m required as your aunt to mention, yet again, that you are not obligated to be here,” the DEO chief added. “It’s still your summer.”

“I’m good, Alex,” El said evenly. She could be annoyed, but she knew it was said in love. She glanced down the sheer drop of glass and steel below her. Her powers were back, however she hadn’t tested flying since blowing them out. She wasn’t all that nervous, though. It’s easy to leap when you know how many people there are ready to catch you. “Throw whatever you got at me.”

“Even if it involves exotic pets trapped in trees?”

El’s brow furrowed for a moment of annoyance, then she laughed. “Even that.”

“You’ll be happy to know, there’s not a single report of the kind,” Alex replied with just the barest hint of amusement in her voice. “However, we do have a robbery in progress.”

El smirked. That’s more like it. “On my way,” she said before tilting forward, off the side of the building, and dropping into free air.

Supergirl alighted outside a downtown bank branch not a moment later, where four figures in ski masks were clambering out of the front doors, literal bags of money in hand.

“Uh, I think the ATM’s got a withdrawal limit,” the superhero said as she stood in their path. “Just so ya’ll know.”

One of the masked men turned at the voice and skidded to a nervous stop. “Oh, crap!” He exclaimed at the sight of the black and grey clad hero. “It’s Supergirl!”

And El smiled. She beamed like the sun coursing through her veins. You try and you try, and then, sometimes, the universe just throws you one. Things take time, but, eventually, it all pays off. She slammed her fist into her palm with glee.

“You’re damn right it is!” She said.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for the kudos and comments!  
> Let's hang out on social media  
> Twitter: @douglas_amongus  
> Instagram: @douglas_amongus  
> Tumblr: douglasamongus


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